AFTER more than a year of being unable to perform live, Weymouth Drama Club is finally returning to the stage with an outdoor production of Arabian Nights this weekend - as it marks its 90th anniversary.
The drama club has been unable to perform due to the Covid pandemic, but members are preparing to tread the boards at Nothe Fort on Saturday and Sunday at 6pm.
The play, adapted by Dominic Cooke, tells a collection of Arabic folk tales through a young Queen Shahrazad who uses her gift of storytelling to save her life from King Shahraya.
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Scorned by an unfaithful wife, Shahryar is the king of a great empire, but is broken-hearted and chooses to marry a new woman every day only to kill her the next morning. In an effort to save her life with her mischievous imagination, the young Queen spins her dazzling array of tales and characters, bringing them to life before the king on her wedding night.
Tickets for the show are available to purchase now and organisers have said that anyone who wants to bring a picnic to enjoy before the show is welcome to go along to the Nothe Fort from 5pm.
The club was left unable to rehearse and put on shows during the pandemic but continued to meet through regular play readings done over Zoom.
A spokesman said: "Until 2020, only the war had halted productions but the events of last year didn't stop the show going on. Regular play readings have been held every week via Zoom which gave members marooned in every corner of the country a chance to meet and join in.
"It was a time when troubles could be set aside to give a few moments of relief from the world."
The drama club, founded in 1931, has staged productions in venues all around the town, including The Prince Regent Hotel & Alexandra Gardens Theatre and staged the first play to be performed at the Pavilion Theatre when it first opened.
Tickets are priced at £10 for adults and £5 for children and are available to purchase at www.weymouthdramaclub.co.uk
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