Production description

2004 expanded Arabic version; script and photos published in a bilingual text (University of Hertfordshire Press, 2006).  Expands on the 2002 English-language version, adding scenographic changes such as the “empty space”  (grave site at center stage) and new scenes including the “Horse of War” skit.  Arabic-speaking cast members come from Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Kuwait.

Production website and reviews at Sulayman Al-Bassam Theatre (SABAB).

Produced in London and at festivals in Tokyo, Seoul, Tehran, etc.  Recorded at the Tokyo International Arts Festival (2004).

Author and director: Sulayman Al-Bassam (Kuwaiti/British)

Synopsis:

A crumbling Arab dictatorship (a collage of real states) convenes a government conference amid car bombs in the capital, rebellion in the south, and an international army massed on the borders. English-speaking Arms Dealer (Nigel Barratt) sells to all, including Claudius, Fortinbras, Gertrude, the Islamist Hamlet, and the suicide bomber Ophelia.