There once was a rich man who lived outside Baghdad, who had many riches but also had a blue beard which frightened all the women away. His neighbor had two fine sons and daughters, and he desired one ...

A rich gentleman called Blue Beard is unable to find a new wife due to his unusual beard and rumors about his missing wives. Through lavish entertainment, a maiden named Fatima decides to marry him.

In her programme notes, Emma Rice states that she has always disliked the story of Charles Perrault’s Bluebeard, as it arguably glamourises the charming, swaggering serial killer of wives over the ...