ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Arthur Zulu is a Nigerian-born writer. His works include Queen Esther, How to Write a Bes-tseller and A Letter to Noah. He has also written several articles, which are freely available on the Internet and at goarticles.com. The author is a founding member of ArthurBookHouse.

SYNOPSIS

King Ahasuerus of Persia dethrones his wife Vashti for disobedience and replaces her with the beautiful black Esther, Rada?s cousin. Haman, the king?s prime minister, makes a stake for Rada and plots the destruction of the blacks in one day. For saving his life, the king honors Rada, who later becomes the prime minister and hangs Haman on his gallows. A new decree saves blacks from extermination.

Dramatis Personae

Ahasuerus        -           King of Medo-Persian Empire

Haman             -           The king?s prime minister

Zeresh              -           His wife

Tarshish

Memucan                     Princes

Shethar

White Bear       -           Satrap of Assyria

Red Bear          -           Satrap of India

Black Bear       -           Satrap of Ethiopia

Rada                -          An Ethiopian

Esther               -           His beautiful black cousin

Teresh                         

Harbona

Zethar                          Ahasuerus? servants

Carkas

Scribe

Boy

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Governors, lords, citizens, soldiers, bodyguards, servants, man, porter

 

Scene:  Asia

 

SYNOPSIS

           

Act 1 Sc 1

 

King Ahasuerus? wife, Vashti, calls him and his subjects drunkards during the celebration of his three-year anniversary.

 

Act 1 Sc 2

 

The king announces the queen?s dethronement to the public and asks the regional rulers to search for a virgin in replacement.

 

Act 1 Sc 3

 

Rada, the Ethiopian cousin of beautiful black Esther, leads her as one of the contestants to the king?s palace.

 

Act 1 Sc 4

 

King Ahasuerus introduces Esther to the people as his new queen.

 

Act 2 Sc 1

 

Rada reports Bigthan and Teresh for wanting to kill the king.

 

Act 2 Sc 2

 

The king hangs Bigthan and Teresh for the conspiracy.

 

Act 2 Sc 3

 

The king grants permission to Haman to exterminate all blacks in the empire, who Haman says are dangerous people.

 

Act 2 Sc 4

 

Blacks mourn their impending destruction and seek Rada?s intervention through Esther.

 

Act 3 Sc 1

 

Rada informs Esther of Haman?s plot to destroy her race and requests her to petition the king in their behalf.

 

Act 3 Sc 2

 

Haman?s wife prompts him to build a fifty-cubit gallows to hang Rada for not prostrating for him in the king?s palace.

 

Act 3 Sc 3

 

Haman takes Rada to the king to be hanged.

 

Act 3 Sc 4

 

Ahasuerus honors Rada with a ride on the royal horse for saving his life, and invites Haman for dinner with Esther.

 

Act 4 Sc 1

 

The people gossip about the turn of events.

 

Act 4 Sc 2

 

Haman?s wife dreads her husband?s fate, who leaves to attend dinner with the royal couple.

 

Act 4 Sc 3

 

The king orders that Haman be hanged on the gallows he made for Rada for planning the genocide of the blacks.

 

Act Sc 4

 

Rada is made new prime minister and the blacks are spared destruction.

 

FREE PREVIEW

(Haman, King Ahasuerus' prime minister, plots the destruction of all blacks in Medo-Persia in one day. Who is to the rescue? Read on)

AHASUERUS: What is your haste, Haman?

HAMAN: (Standing) These conspirators and murderers!

AHASUERUS: They have been hanged both of them. Who

knows, but for a certain citizen, I would have

been dead.

HAMAN: The danger is still there. There are some

people in this empire, whose lot is to disobey

the king?s laws and cause rebellion.

AHASUERUS: Sit down my noblest prince. In the name of

your office, who are those people?

HAMAN: (Tries to sit then stands again) This is not a

sitting matter, Your Majesty! Their name is as

poisonous as their deeds.

AHASUERUS: Name them, I say!

HAMAN: They are the black people of Ethiopia ? the

race that is seven years behind civilization.

AHASUERUS: These slaves and captives! Do you mean they

do such harm?

HAMAN: And more, Your Highness. If there is robbery

in Persia, the villain is black. If there is

murder in India, the killer is colored. And if

there is a whore by the Nile, that prostitute is

Ethiopian. Who knows if the conspirators

were not blacks? They are more poisonous

than all the scorpions in Asia! (Stamping his

feet on the floor)

AHASUERUS: You are a good officer and a keen observer,

Haman. What will we do with these people?

HAMAN: (Crossing his two hands behind and leaning

toward the king in pretended surprise) Does the

king ask me what is to be done with so

wicked a race?

AHASUERUS: I ask for your excellent advice as the king?s

best man.

HAMAN: And can I answer as the officer of the king?

AHASUERUS: Yes, give your judgment

HAMAN: (Sitting down) If I were a bad citizen, I would

have said that their lives should be spared.

But as a good citizen and as an officer of the

king, my judgment is that all blacks?men

and women, boys and girls, and babies born

and unborn ? be destroyed in one day!

AHASUERUS: I trust your judgment, Haman. Your life will

be long.

HAMAN: I will pay ten thousand talents of silver for

the king?s men to do it.

AHASUERUS: (Giving Haman his signet ring) Here, take my

signet ring. The money and authority is given

you to do to the blacks as you please.

HAMAN: (Leaping with joy) The king does his servant so

much favor. Yet, this is for the safety of the

king and the empire. I would have the scribes

indite an edict to the effect and send to all

the satraps, governors, and princes of the

jurisdictional districts of the empire in their

own languages. In the king?s name it would be

written, and with his ring, it would be sealed.

AHASUERUS: As it pleases you, Haman.

HAMAN: Your Majesty! All blacks wherever they live

in the empire, are to be killed on the

thirteenth day of the twelfth month. After

that, the empire will have peace.

AHASUERUS: As you wish, Haman, so it will be done.

HAMAN: (Hands raised upward) Your Highness, the

blacks must die!

Exeunt

 

 

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Other books by the same author:

 

How to Write a Best-seller

http://www.arthurbookhouse.com/bestseller.html

A Letter to Noah

http://www.arthurbookhouse.com/comingsoon.html