“The Incomparable Story of Abul Hossein the Yemeni and His Flight into the Desert (based on One Thousand and One Nights)”, directed by Silviu Purcărete – World Premiere at TNRS

The Radu Stanca National Theatre Sibiu presents, this Friday, the world premiere of “The Incomparable Story of Abul Hossein the Yemeni and His Flight into the Desert (based on One Thousand and One Nights)”, the latest creation of director Silviu Purcărete, designed in collaboration with set designer Dragoș Buhagiar and composer Vasile Șirli.

“Twenty-five years after the first production that Mr. Silviu Purcărete created at the Radu Stanca National Theatre— Pilafs and the Scent of a Donkey, inspired by One Thousand and One Nights—we are now building a symbolic bridge and arriving at another reflection on what this inexhaustible treasure that is One Thousand and One Nights represents for humanity. After 25 years, this production forms a broad arc over what storytelling means for people: the power to dream, to create worlds, and even to sacrifice oneself for what we call creation”, stated Constantin Chiriac, General Manager of TNRS, during a press conference.

“The framework in which Silviu Purcărete developed the staging is an open one—not open in form, but open in content, in the sense that each spectator can construct or add their own story, depending on the space, culture, and family they come from, and on all their personal experiences. Ultimately, every viewer is the sum of the books they have read, the encounters they have had, and, of course, the stories they have read and the experiences within their family”, said set designer Dragoș Buhagiar, inviting audiences to discover or rediscover these readings, which he considers fundamental to each of our spiritual formations.

“We did not dramatize these stories in the classical sense—we did not take a single story and turn it into dialogue. We drew inspiration from these stories: we took fragments from one, fragments from another, and combined them into a kind of spectacular mosaic that contains everything—story, image, music. It is an autonomous performance, inspired by this collection. The collection was exceptionally translated into Romanian by Haralambie Grămescu. I encourage you, as Mr. Buhagiar also suggested, to read or reread it if you have not yet done so; it is a fundamental work. You will not learn very much about this masterpiece by watching our performance, but it may spark your desire to discover it”, said Silviu Purcărete, director.

Silviu Purcărete also explained that One Thousand and One Nights is a corpus of stories from the Islamic world—from the Near East, from Egypt and Morocco all the way to India—a collection that exists in numerous variants. One of the earliest European versions appeared 400 years ago, in French. Even the title One Thousand and One Nights does not indicate an exact number of stories; in Arabic, the expression “one thousand and one” is used to denote a very large, undefined quantity.

The French writer J.-C. Mardrus produced a famous structuring of these texts, organizing them as a narrative cycle focused on the story of Scheherazade, the princess who saves her life by telling a story each night.

The performance “The Incomparable Story of Abul Hossein the Yemeni and His Flight into the Desert (based on One Thousand and One Nights)” is the Sibiu National Theatre’s holiday gift to its audience. For this reason, in addition to the premiere performances on December 5, 6, and 7, additional shows were scheduled for December 19, 20, and 21, 2025, as well as January 8, 9, and 10, 2026. All tickets sold out within minutes of going on sale.

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The Incomparable Story of Abul Hossein the Yemeni and His Flight into the Desert (based on One Thousand and One Nights)

Directed by: Silviu Purcărete
Set design: Dragoș Buhagiar
Original music: Vasile Șirli
Assistant director: Sanda Anastasof
Technical direction: Nicușor Văcariu
Sound: Cătălin Scheau
Lighting: Sergiu Pașcalău
Props: Ana Dumitru and Nicolae Dogaru
Cabinets: Elena Hărșan and Angelica Ognean
Project managers: Claudia Maior, Daria Ciobanu, Denisa Bar

Cast: Johanna Adam,  Veronica Arizancu,  Ada Bicfalvi,  David Cristian,  Radu Costea,  Ioana Cosma,  Ali Deac,  Antonia Dobocan,  Crina Dumitrașcu,  Horia Fedorca,  Mădălina Foficaș,  Andrei Gîlcescu,  Viviane Havrilla,  Raluca Iani,  Diana Lazăr,  Alexandru Malaicu,  Mihai Mocanu,  Adrian Neacșu,  Cătălin Neghină,  Oana Noja,  Gabriela Pîrliteanu,  Eduard Pătrașcu,  Ania Petrean,  Fabiola Petri,  Cristina Ragoș,  Viorel Rață,  Gyan Ros,  Cristian Stanca,  Cristina Stoleriu,  Arina Ioana Trif,  Cendana Trifan,  Iustinian Turcu,  Ștefan Tunsoiu,  Codruța Vasiu,  Pali Vecsei,  Liviu Vlad