by Haley Verre
Staff Writer
Westford Academy’s production of The Arabian Nights, or One Thousand and One Nights, premiered last Thursday night. The opening night was moderately successful and was well received by the audience.
Anybody planning to see the show should expect a combination of a dance show, in which students perform traditional Arabic belly dancing, and a re-telling of popular fables. They should also be prepared to pay attention closely, as there are many stories within the main story.
The Arabian Nights is based on a collection of Middle Eastern and Indian stories of unknown authors that are thought to have originated centuries ago. They are best known for their tales of lovers, morals, Islamic teachings, and representations of the common man.
The Westford Academy adaptation sets the scene for an Arabic setting with a decorative set and Middle Eastern music.
The production took certain liberties with the original story by using pop culture references, as well as putting a humorous spin on the plot, such as an impromptu dance party.
The audience responded particularly well to the funny asides, but also to the blatant sexual innuendos and crude humor.
The main frame story begins with a Persian king, Shahrayar, wh0 finds his wife having an affair with one of his slaves. In a rage, he kills them both. He then continues the violent cycle with each of his new wives, killing them after only one night.
Running out of wives, he forces his servant to give him his daughter Scheherazade for marriage. Scheherazade, fearing for her life, outsmarts the king by telling him an intriguing story every night and refusing to finish it so that she may live another day to keep telling it.
Some of the stories included a man who was tricked into signing a marriage contract with a horrid woman, a jester who marries a woman with many lovers, a woman wiser than any man on earth, and a prince who visits a Khalifa with a secret shame.
Scheherazade keeps it up for another one thousand and one nights and eventually wins her freedom, as well as the love and the trust of Shahrayar.
