Tales from the Arabian Nights
By Farhana Sheikh
Directed by Jonathan Petherbridge
London Bubble to stage first summer show in seven years
Tales from the Arabian Nights will be performed in Southwark Park from 1 – 6 August and Greenwich Park from 9 – 19 August 2017
London Bubble, the iconic South-East London theatre company has announced today that it will stage its first summer show in seven years, with performances in Southwark Park (1– 6 August), and Greenwich Park (9–19 August). Tickets are on sale now from www.londonbubble.org.uk.
Tales from the Arabian Nights was the Bubble’s first promenade production when Farhana Sheikh’s play was staged in 1994, and is now being reimagined for summer 2017 under the direction of Bubble Creative Director Jonathan Petherbridge, with designs by Yasuko Hasegawa.
Well known for their family friendly theatre, London Bubble’s last ticketed summer show was staged in 2010. After funding cuts in 2008 the company had to reinvent itself and become wholly sustainable without Arts Council funding. Their survivalist story – which saw Bubble rebuild the company on people power, passion and partnerships – has been held up as an example of resilience in the theatre industry. The Bubble is now delighted to reconnect with its audiences and go back to doing what they were most publicly known and loved for.
London Bubble’s ethos is “people make theatre” and the mission has always been to create theatre that is inspirational, inclusive and involving – sharing stories that animate the spaces of the city and the spirits of its citizens. The Bubble staged its first summer show in 1972 and has been creating theatre both for and with communities throughout the outer London boroughs for nearly 45 years. Audiences coming to see Tales from the Arabian Nights are welcome to bring their whole family, including babes in arms or children in buggies, plus any pets who might enjoy a trip to the park.
Playwright Farhana Sheikh said: “The Bubble commissioned Tales from the Arabian Nights back in 1994 and it was the first play I ever wrote, so it is a very special project for me. The stories of A Thousand and One Nights are part of a wonderful oral tradition – the remembering, retelling, recreating and reinventing of these tales of romance and adventure could last for days and in this play I attempt to recreate the power of the storyteller. I am delighted to rewrite it for this new production and bring the stories to a new Bubble audience.”
Creative Director Jonathan Petherbridge said: “I am really looking forward to creating a Bubble promenade adventure for a new generation and hopefully, welcoming some of the loyal supporters who enjoyed our shows in the past. Am I right in thinking there is currently a need for less formal theatre experiences that draw on great stories and bring people together in a natural environment? Bubble always provided that – welcoming all ages and building community under the night sky of London.”
Farhana Sheikh’s previous work includes the novel, The Red Box, and nine other plays, including – for the Bubble – Once Upon A Time Very Far from England, Gilgamesh, Gulliver’s Travels and Punchkin Enchanter. She co-wrote, with Adrian Jackson, the award-winning Mincemeat, and with the composer Thomas Johnson, an oratorio, Gilgamesh.
Jonathan Petherbridge has been making different sorts of theatre for nearly three decades – some orthodox work – shows developed from the work of a writer (Shakespeare, Brecht, Brenton), some inspired by places (parks, cliff tops, vaults), some driven by social purposes (young people, intergenerational projects, theatre for early years). He pioneered promenade theatre as a response to the dominance of the black box, directed and rejected the community play, and continually seeks to introduce theatre to effective settings.
Designer Yasuko Hasegawa was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. Her childhood interest in ballet and storytelling led her to study theatre design at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has worked as theatre designer and community artist since graduation, both in the UK and Japan. In 2015, she designed London Bubble’s Grandchildren of Hiroshima, which was created with the local community of Hiroshima in Japan. She is designing installation for Seven for a Secret with Pegasus Theatre, Oxford in May 2017. She lives and works in Osaka.