'ISLAND OF ANIMALS' Stages Ancient Middle Eastern Fable

Shipwreak strands a multinational crew on a desert isle abounding in animals. When the humans begin to hunt and try to domesticate these natural inhabitants, the animals take them to court, asking the wise chief of the Djinn, 'What gives them the right?"

So goes the medieval fable of 'The Island of Animals,' an allegory by the mysterious Ikhwan al-Safah, illuminati of the region which is now Bahrain by the Persian Gulf. The Ikhwan al-Safah were probably related to the Isma'ilis, progressive Shi'ites, whose best-known modern sect is led by the Aga Khan. The fable would later be an inspiration for Ibn Tufail, whose Arabic novella of a castaway civilizing a desert island would in turn inspire Daniel Defoe when he wrote 'Robinson Crusoe.'

Golden Thread Productions has joined forces with Ballet Afsaneh and the Afghan Coalition to produce Hafiz Karmali's
adaptation of this cogent fable, opening Sat. April 22 at SF's Thick House on Potrero Hill, after two days of pay-what-you-can previews, and will continue for several weeks before moving to an old cinema, renovated for theater, in Fremont. Info at: goldenthread.org.

Hafiz Karmali, himself of Isma'ili extraction, was trained in theater in North America, and currently lives in Paris, where he studies and translates medieval Shi'ite philosophy at the Sorbonne, and stages Middle Eastern stories in a variety of Western theatrical styles.

Golden Thread, under the direction of Torange Yeghiazarian, produces the annual festival of one-acts about the Middle East, 'ReOrient,' and much else in the way of theatrical and cultural activity regarding that most ancient and complex part of the world. ballet Afsaneh, directed by Sharlyn Sawyer, is an innovative company specializing in Persian and Central Asian dance.