Zimmerman’s "The Arabian Nights"

If you'd like a magical escape from the politics, war and social change in the news about the Arab world, Mary Zimmerman's Arabian Nights is the theatrical production for you. Set in ancient Baghdad with subplots in Cairo and around the Middle-East, Arabian Nights presents a glimpse into Islamic life that is so creatively nuanced that it couldn't be replicated in one's wildest dreams. This unique piece of art was clearly crafted by an expert director and playwright. I was fortunate enough to see this play last night courtesy of the discount ticket program at Arena stage, but Zimmerman's latest artistic masterpiece will be playing in DC through February 20^th. (I'd recommend getting tickets as soon as possible because word of mouth travels quickly about these performances and they are more likely to be sold out towards the end of the show's run.)

The plot is built around the story of a young woman who uses storytelling to escape her tragic fate. Over the course of the almost three hour long play, the desperate protagonist draws upon her superb and mesmerizing storytelling skills to captivate her would-be murder and by consequence, the audience too. Her stories are humorous, imaginative and bold. At times, the stories mirror the themes of the main plot, creating parallel representations of love, betrayal and revenge.

Despite its seemingly solemn subject matter, it is actually quite a humorous performance to watch. I laughed consistently throughout the evening as characters tried to trash-talk their way out of trouble in various scenes. The script is delightfully sprinkled with easy puns and sharp wit. Best of all, Arabian Nights provides an imaginative escape without the special effects and frills of Hollywood cinema. Viewers are encouraged to use their own minds and actively participate in forming their own visual image of the play.

Applying lessons from Cuba’s 1959 Revolution to the Mid-East 2011 Revolution

Cuba's revolution of 1959 was similar to the budding revolutions that are now taking place in the Middle East in that ordinary citizens were fed up with an unfair regime. Cuban people once viewed Fulgencio Batista as Egyptians now see Mubarak. Although the Cuban Revolution was successful in ending Batista's reign, the manner in which this goal was achieved resulted in grave consequences, including tremendous bloodshed and a loss of civil liberties.

The leaders of the Cuban Revolution, including Castro and Guevara, used violence rather than peaceful civil disobedience to win their struggle and their new government ended up adopting a restrictive style of government rather than a democracy. (I realize that there are many complexities to these movements that won't be addressed in this post, however I just wanted to draw the historical link in light of the present situation.) The political unrest that many Mid-East nations are experiencing as a result of revolutionary-style protests has placed the citizens of these nations in a vulnerable position.

In addition to being fed-up with autocratic rule, demonstrators in Jordan are motivated by rising food and fuel prices, and poor living conditions; all of which many blame on market-liberalizing economic decisions implemented in the 2000's. Revolutionaries in Cuba were led by similar concerns and once their revolutionary war was over, Cuba's new government mistakenly aligned itself with the international Communist Party while implementing social justice reforms to benefit its formerly oppressed citizenry. Hopefully, this scenario won't play out in the Mid-East with new governments siding with terrorist groups or extremist elements of more pluralistic groups. Yemen is the home to Al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula and the Muslim Brotherhood, which has some questionable elements among its ranks, has taken a leadership role in speaking for protestors in Jordan.

History in the making is always fascinating to watch and I really hope that the United States and other nations continue to weigh-in on the Mid-East protests in the interest of peaceful democratic social change in whatever ways they can.