TALES FROM THE ARABIAN NIGHTS - THEATRE ROYAL WINCHESTER

IN an evening of romance, suspense and comedy, Blue Apple Theatre enact some of some of the greatest and most exotic stories in the world, in their new production Tales from the Arabian Nights.

First collected in the Islamic Golden Age of the 8th – 12th centuries, Tales from the Arabian Nights have amused and inspired people across the world and across the centuries.

From Chaucer to Rushdie the tales have been reinvented and retold and now Blue Apple Theatre present their own retelling in an adaptation of Dominic Cooke’s version first written for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

With a cast of 35, many of whom have learning disabilities, a magical world is created where giant beasts, singing trees and crafty thieves all come to life in a performance involving drama, dance, puppetry and film.

Tales from the Arabian Nights is playing at Theatre Royal, Winchester, from Thursday to Saturday.

PLAYS FROM THE WRITERS' ROOM - BERRY THEATRE, HEDGE END

FIVE new plays by up and coming writers will premiere at The Berry Theatre tomorrow.

The work penned by members of one of the Hedge End theatre’s writing groups The Writers’ Room will be produced in one day by a team of professional directors and actors.

The plays include Stone by Matt Beames, which is a set in a world not so different from this one, where something strange and frightening is happening to humankind.

Stone will be directed by Mary Swan.

An uninvited wedding guest shows up in A Love’s Rant written by Ruben Sanchez–Garcia and directed by Daniel Hill.

Because We’re Here by Deborah Gearing is a new play featuring a nurse and a young soldier, set in World War One. Kirstie Davis directs.

Armchair Revolution by Nathan Stafford King explores issues with our political system and is directed by Owen Calvert Lyons.

The final offering on the day is You Never Know Who’s Watching You, a tense thriller by Gavin Egan, directed by Nicky Bellenger.