Afternoon Play - Arabian Afternoons - The Porter and the Three Ladies

Arabian Afternoons: The Porter and the Three Ladies A wild, dark modern fairytale by Rachel Joyce, set in Damascus. The second in a series of contemporary plays inspired by stories from the Arabian Nights. It is time for Shahrazad to tell another tale to save her life. In this story within a story, we find out that if Joe doesn't find the exclusive to satisfy his ruthless editor, he will lose his job. He finds three beautiful women in Damascus but what is the truth behind their secret life? Shahrazad ........Sirine Saba Shahrayar.........Kevork Malikyan Joe....................Stephen Tompkinson Margot............... Joanna Monro Mira................... Indira Varma Affyah.................Jasmine Jones Juliba..................Melissa Advani Directed by Tracey Neale The Story "The Porter and the Three Ladies" is inspired by a tale of the same name in The Thousand and One Nights: The three beautiful and mysterious women who take the porter in have only one rule: never ask us questions. He resists but when disguised dignitaries and one-eyed dervishes arrive and break the rule, they are all imprisoned and can only buy their freedom with stories. The Play In Rachel Joyce's tale Shahrazad has one last night to tell a story before the King kills her in the morning. She chooses one about freedom: the adventures of an out of luck journalist, Joe, who has been sent by his ruthless editor to find the story that sells newspapers or he will lose his job. But what Joe discovers in Damascus are three beautiful women with a terrible secret.Can Joe win his job back with their story? And can Shahrazad win another night with Joe's? A wild, dark modern fairytale. The Writer Rachel Joyce is a talented and imaginative writer who has written many plays for radio. Her most recent work includes a beautiful dramatisation of Henry James's "The Portrait of A Lady" and a stylish adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's "Villette". Her moving Afternoon Play "To Be A Pilgrim" won the Peter Tinniswood Award for best drama in 2007.