Fairytales for Grown-ups: 7 Princesses - or - Haft Paykar of Nizami, by Xanthe Gresham with Arash Moradi

'When night poured out its silken sack of musky black, King Bahrum, overcome by wine and love, asked the Black Princess with eyes like a gazelle, to open up her treasure box and tell him a tale....' So begins the first of seven playful, poetic, and often deeply erotic tales.

Xanthe Gresham and Arash Moradi return to the Forge with a night of wild Persian fairytale. A labyrinthine epic of secret rooms, impatient passions, clever women, and a prince who wrestled his crown from the teeth of two wild lions to become King.

Nizami, one of the best loved Iranian epic poets, wrote The Seven Princesses or 'Haft Paykar' in the 12th century AD, influencing generations of poets and storytellers across the world.

Join us for this first outing of a remarkable new show by two superb performers...


‘She speaks like a woman spitting jewels’ Arts Council England

‘a truly great storyteller’ Cecily Boys, British Theatre Review

‘Gresham unwraps each tale like the petals of a lotus flower. At the end of the evening you leave with something beautiful created in your own mind’ British Theatre Review