THE ARABIAN NIGHT

THE ARABIAN NIGHT

July 1 – 30, 2006
  • By Roland Schimmelpfennig
  • Translated by Melanie Dreyer
  • Directed by Jenny McConnell Frederick
  • THE SANCTUARY THEATRE at Casa Del Pueblo Calvary Methodist Church

Nominated Play of the Year by six German critics in 2001, THE ARABIAN NIGHT is a sleek and sensual thriller from one of the most acclaimed new voices of the German stage. The play follows the interweaving fantasies, crossed paths and conflicting desires of five individuals trapped in an apartment tower on the hottest night in history.

THE ARABIAN NIGHT was sponsored in part by generous gifts from Pete Miller and Sara Cormeny and from an anonymous donor

Rorschach Theatre’s SEASON 6 was sponsored in part by a generous gift from The Dobranski Foundation and by DHL

“A slick 60-minute thriller with a chip on its urbane shoulder and a whiff of the supernatural in its nostrils.”

Washington City Paper

FEATURING

Matt Dunphy
Nelina Giridhar
Jessica Hansen
Jason McCool
Edwin Xavier

Designers

Set Tim Getman
Lighting David C. Ghatan
Costumes Yvette Ryan
Sound Matthew Frederick
Props Suzen MAson

STAFF

Stage Manager Jessie Gallogy
Dramaturg Jordan Sudermann & Rachel Miller

PRODUCERS

Randy Baker
Jenny McConnell Frederick

MEDIA

PRESS

"Engaging… Powerful… Surreal… a dramatist of promise seeking an original method of redefining the world and its mysterious ways."
The Washington Post
“A feverish, existential bedtime story of sorts… All in all, the dreamy, smoldering Arabian Night is worth every sweltering moment.”
DCist
"Welcome to a hot unsettling evening at Rorschach where beyond being a fly on the wall, you’ve actually burrowed deep into people’s brains to hear their thoughts and experiences, past, present and future-unnerving. So unnerving in fact, that the piece is mercifully only sixty minutes. That’s about all the time one can remain transfixed in this alternate reality where time, material substance, and heated emotions are all mixed up and bubbling in a simmering cauldron, ready to boil over. Rorschach is notorious for its blazingly innovative style and in your face, cutting edge approach to theater. They’ve met their match with this stylized script by young German playwright Roland Schimmelpfennig."
DC Theatre Reviews
“I think its become clear that Rorschach, operating out of a restrictive church space, has out of necessity and boundless inventiveness, come up with an identity and style. There’s nothing quite like it in the Washington theatre world. It may not always be everyone’s cup of tea like say the crowd-pleasing “The Beard of Avon” was, but it’s always a strong, rich cup of tea.”
The Downtowner/Georgetowner