About

Forced Entertainment: And on the Thousandth Night

And on the Thousandth Night explores the live relationship between a story and its public, a story and its tellers, taking its title and part of its inspiration from “One Thousand and One Nights”.

A story is told, made up live, dragged from memory by a line of performers dressed as Kings and Queens, wearing cheap red cloaks and cardboard crowns. It is a long, mutating and endlessly self-cancelling story. It is a story that somehow, in its many dips and turns, seems to include many — if not all — of the stories in the world.

Moving from the extraordinary to the banal, it mixes everything from film plots, religious stories, children’s stories, traditional tales, jokes and modern myths, to scary stories, love stories and sex stories. The Kings and Queens compete, interrupting, exaggerating, taking over each other’s narratives and incorporating stolen bits into their own tales. Their storytelling moves between tiredness and hysteria, between absurd vulgarity and surprising tenderness.

Conceived and devised by the company


Performers: Robin Arthur, Tim Etchells, Jerry Killick, Richard Lowdon, Claire Marshall, Cathy Naden, Terry O’Connor
Direction: Tim Etchells

Text: Tim Etchells and the company

Design and Lighting Design: Richard Lowdon

And on the Thousandth Night… is a Forced Entertainment production

Commissioned by Festival Ayloul Beirut

The performance of And on the Thousandth Night is part of a three-day intensive Forced Entertainment residency at Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts that begins on Thursday 10 November with the premiere of the company’s new show, Real Magic, which will also be performed again on Friday 11 November. The three days will also include a video screening (Uncertain Fragments) and a public conversation between Tim Etchells and Dr Sara Jane Bailes of the University of Sussex.

General Information

Guests with Mobility Impairments

Guests who use a wheelchair or experience mobility impairments are asked to call the box office on 01273 678822 or email info@attenboroughcentre.com so that we can assist you to find the best seat to suit your requirements.

Pay What You Decide

There are up to 20 Pay What You Decide (PWYD) tickets available to guests on a first-come, first-served basis. Come and see the show without paying anything in advance, and then pay what you think is appropriate at the end of the show. Maximum of four PWYD tickets per person. Please phone the box office on 01273 678822 or email info@attenboroughcentre.com for further information.

Concessions

The Concessions rate is available for students, University of Sussex students, Over 60s and people receiving JSA or DLA/PIP. Proof of eligibility may be required on the door or at the box office (if collecting).

A free ticket is available for essential companions or carers of disabled people. Please contact the box office on 01273 678822 or email info@attenboroughcentre.com for further information.

Box Office Opening Times

The box office phone line and drop-in service is open from 10am to 4pm, Mondays to Fridays.