Synopses & Reviews
In 2005, a group of Afghan actors endeavored to create an unusual dramatic performanceandmdash;one that would bring theater to a region wounded after years of war with the Taliban and offer hope for healing.
A Night in the Emperorandrsquo;s Garden is the captivating account of their resulting play and a rich exploration of the regionandrsquo;s culture.
In preparation, for five months, the group tirelessly reworked Shakespeareandrsquo;s Loveandrsquo;s Labourandrsquo;s Lost into their own Dari language while the members brought their own experiences to the interpretation. One actor was a police detective and widow determined to create images of strong women. Another had trained at Kabul University before fleeing to Pakistan as a refugee. A third had played the title role in the acclaimed film Osama, yet was a beggar who could barely read and write. Joined by a French actress who served as director and several other enthusiasts, these actors performed before royalty and street vendors alike for one night amid the ruins of a magnificent garden laid out five centuries earlier by Emperor Babur. For the first time in thirty years, men and women stood on stage together as they worked toward a new era in Afghanistan.
Qais Akbar Omar and Stephen Landrigan, both involved in the production, have captured its exuberance and optimism along with the actorsandrsquo; joys and sorrows in the decade following the play. Revealing a side of Afghanistan largely unknown to outsiders, A Night in the Emperorandrsquo;s Garden tells the magical story of an artistic achievement with universal appeal.
Review
andldquo;Absolutely charmingandmdash;touching, hilariousandmdash;and very different to all the depressing war tomes on Afghanistan.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;The story is alternately funny, poignant, and inspiring, providing a glimpse into another Afghanistan.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;
A Night in the Emperorandrsquo;s Garden is an illuminating and deeply moving bookandmdash;a startling exploration of Shakespearean mobility, a tribute to the subversive power of the theater, and a poignant account of the tragic dilemmas of contemporary Afghanistan. It is an unforgettable story about courage, artistic ambition, and moral determination in the face of murderous violence.andrdquo;
Synopsis
In 2005, everything seemed possible in Afghanistan. The Taliban was gone. A new government had been elected. A cultural renaissance was energizing the country.
An actress visiting from Paris casually proposed to some Afghan actors in Kabul: Why not put on a play? The challenges were huge. It had been thirty years since men and women had appeared on stage together in Afghanistan. Was the country ready for it? Few Afghan actors had ever done theater. Did they even know how? They had performed only in films and television dramas.
Still, a company of actors gathered among them a housewife, a policewoman, and a street kid turned film star. With no certainty of its outcome, they set out on a journey that would have life-changing consequences for all of them, and along the way lead to A Night in the Emperor s Garden.
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About the Author
Qais Akbar Omar is the author of A Fort of Nine Towers, which has been published in over twenty languages, and has written for the New York Times and the Atlantic. A graduate of the creative writing program at Boston University, he is currently a Scholars at Risk fellow at Harvard University.Stephen Landrigan is a playwright and former journalist for the Washington Post and BBC Radio. He lives in Massachusetts, where he tends a small orchard near Boston.