A king betrayed by his wife, decides to wreak his revenge on womankind by bedding, then slaughtering, one virgin every night… but then he meets Sheherazade.

Sheherazade, the storyteller who saved her own life together with the lives of her children by telling stories for a thousand and one nights, is one of the great cultural creations of the Arab world.

Stories nestle within stories, with demons, errant spouses, thieves, fools and comedians all jostling for attention. The fabulous Egyptian storyteller and performer Chirine El Ansary returns to the Crick Crack Club to tell some of the most intriguing and deliciously seductive episodes from The Nights, stories that explore the deepest passions and desires of men and women.

CHIRINE EL ANSARY
Cairo born, and Le Coq and Goldsmith’s trained in Paris and London, Chirine El Ansary is a storyteller and physical performer living in Egypt and France, working in French, English and Arabic. Her work includes performances of The Arabian Nights; her remarkable adaptation of the Banu Hilal epic (premiered at the Barbican in 2005); experimental movement solos based on Italo Calvino’s prose; Sufi tales and performance poetry.