Ninety-Four

I saw the play, Arabian Nights, with Kris last night at the Berkeley Repertory Theater. You may have already read her review.

At the end of the play when Scheherazade and the King live happily ever after I was absurdly delighted with the play. Fifteen minutes later in the car driving home I did some math. At the beginning of the play, the vizier states that it’s been 3 long years since the King started rutting and strangling virgins. This means that he’s likely killed 1,095 women. So at the end of 1,001 nights with Scheherazade, has he really atoned for his killing spree? I just can’t accept his reformation, I guess. Even if I could accept that he’s felt guilt and repented, I still am not sure that I’d be willing to forgive him for his crimes against my gender. Plus, it’s an unequal trade off. 1,095 vs. 1,001. That’s 94 deaths unrelieved.

Regardless of my feelings for the King, the play itself was wonderful. It was warm and witty and felt like it was wrapping me in a comforting blanket with the twin pinpricks of delight and thought. Kris quoted a set of lines from the play:

– What is the purpose of life?

– To cultivate enthusiasm.

which were from the story of Sympathy and the Learned. This was possibly my favorite story Scheherazade told over the course of the many nights. It was full of thought-provoking questions and answers, flowing dialogue, and humorous interludes between egocentric scholars and the simple, cutting-through-the-bullshit, truth of Sympathy.

My other favorite stories included the Bag in the Marketplace where the two citizens fighting over a lost bag improved their claims as to what was inside for the delight and merriment of the witnesses and audience. Also great was the story of the Fart, the one with the Many Lovers, and the montage scene they did of many, many stories all at once to show time passing quickly for Scheherazade and the King in their night-time pillow talking.

I went into the play fighting against the soporific charms of my many cold medicines, but by intermission I was wide awake and thrumming with curiosity to see what story would be told next. This is a sign of a great play–that it has the power to wake you up. I was nervous at the very beginning because the introductory elements were a trifle boring but the actors excelled at making Scheherazade’s tales come to life. The second half of the 2 hour and 25 minute long play was even more marvelous than the first. I totally recommend this to anyone who likes stories, singing, dancing, and excellent costuming and set design.