The Arab Shakespeare Trilogy: The Al-Hamlet Summit; Richard III, an Arab Tragedy; The Speakers Progress [Paperback]

Sulayman Al Bassam is one of the world's leading contemporary dramatists. His adaptations of Shakespeare, performed around the world, have won many awards and met with widespread acclaim on four continents.

This volume brings together for the first time three of Al Bassam's adaptations of Shakespearean plays - including versions ofHamlet,Richard IIIandTwelfth Night- collectively known asThe Arab Shakespeare Trilogy.

The Al-Hamlet Summitsees the familiar characters ofHamletreborn as delegates placed in a conference room in an unnamed modern Arab state on the brink of war;Richard III: an Arab Tragedyis a contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare's classic, reworked and transplanted into the scorching oil-rich Islamic world of the Gulf; whileThe Speaker's Progressis a forensic reconstruction ofTwelfth Nightwhich transforms into an unequivocal act of defiance towards the state, forming a dark satire on the decades of hopelessness and political inertia that fed twenty-first-century revolts across the Arab region.

The Arab Shakespeare Trilogyfeatures an editorial introduction by Graham Holderness, positioning the plays within the contexts of both modern Shakespearean drama and Arab culture as well as an author's preface by Sulayman Al Bassam, detailing the plays' history of theatrical reception and outlining his philosophy of Shakespeare adaptation.

Sulayman Al Bassam(b. Kuwait, 1972) founded Zaoum Theatre in London in 1996 before establishing SABAB Theatre, the Arabic arm, in 2002. His plays have been published in various languages and study of his work forms part of higher education curriculae at universities in the USA and the Middle East. He produces work in both English and Arabic languages.

Graham Holdernessis Professor of English at the University of Hertfordshire, author or editor of numerous studies in early modern and modern literature and dramal'