Adapted and directed by Dominic Cooke.

Wedding night in the palace of King Shahrayar. By morning the new Queen Shahrazad is to be put to death like a thousand young brides before her. She has the one gift that can save her - the gift of storytelling.

With a mischievous imagination and silver tongue Queen Shahrazad paints a dazzling array of stories and characters; amongst them Ali Baba and Es-Sindibad, summoned forth from strange and magical worlds populated by giant beasts, singing trees, devilish ghouls and crafty thieves. But will her enchanting stories save her from the executioner's block?

A truly bewitching tale celebrating the power of the imagination and storytelling to heal all wounds, Arabian Nights will be the first family show to play in The Courtyard Theatre, offering a magical theatrical experience.

Dominic Cooke, Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre and previous RSC Associate Director returns to the RSC to direct Arabian Nights. His most recent RSC productions are his acclaimed version of Malorie Blackman's Noughts & Crosses in 2008, before which he also directed the Olivier Award-winning The Crucible (2006). He now re-creates his enchanting version of Arabian Nights, first performed at the Young Vic in 1998.

Arabian Nights runs at The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon from 5 December 2009 - 30 January 2010.