Stephen Landrigan and Qais Akbar Omar helped to stage a remarkable production of Love’s Labour’s Lost in Afghanistan in 2006. Landrigan, an aid worker and playwright, adapted the script, while Omar, a writer and carpet designer, was assistant director. The play was performed by Afghan actors in the Dari language, and it was the first time in a generation that men and women appeared on the stage together.

Landrigan and Omar explain how the actors adapted Shakespeare to their own tradition of epic poetry and describe the challenges in putting on a production. They also offer a glimpse into an Afghan cultural life that is rarely seen on the news. The event is chaired by Dr Alastair Niven, principal of Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, and author of several books on post-colonial writing.