Hakawatis – Women of the Arabian Nights

Share in the unifying power of storytelling as ancient tales are reclaimed, rewritten and reimagined for Hakawatis: Women of the Arabian Nights in our candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.

Hakawati /hakəˈwɑːti/. Noun: Storyteller. From the Arabic terms hekaye meaning story and haki meaning to talk.

A tyrant revenges his wife’s infidelity by wedding, bedding and beheading a new bride every day. Years later, only five brides-in-waiting remain.

These women are unapologetic, and united in their fight to keep themselves – and the whole of womankind – alive. They’ve got other ideas for their future, and it starts with a story…

This fearless new play, a co-production with Tamasha Theatre Company, is directed by their Artistic Director, Pooja Ghai (Lotus Beauty, Hampstead, Lions and Tigers, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse) and written by Globe Resident Writer Hannah Khalil (The Fir Tree, Henry VIII, Globe), with contributions from Hanan al-Shaykh, Suhayla El-Bushra and Sara Shaarawi.

‘Look at her – plucked and waxed and creamed and painted. Ready for battle. For the inevitable.’