Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other ...

Persia’s king was initially persuaded by a smooth-talking advisor, an evil antisemite named Haman. Haman, whose hatred for one Jew named Mordechai metastasized into hatred for all Jews ...

Scene One, translated here, imagines the ancient Persian King, Ahasuerus, as a drunken, bloated fool who’s an easy mark for evil plotting because he hires out others to do his thinking for him.

For centuries, Cochin Jews marked Purim by burning effigies of Haman, while the holiday represented the day when Jews from all backgrounds celebrated together ...

Esther, King Ahasuerus and Haman have another feast the next day, and Esther reveals to the king that she is Jewish and asks for her people to be allowed to remain safely in the empire.

At the second feast, Esther hosts Haman and King Ahasuerus, where she reveals her Jewish faith and background to the king and begs him not to murder her people, including Mordecai.

^In 499-449 BCE, King Ahasuerus established a coalition of countries – from India to Ethiopia – which launched the Greco-Persian Wars, aiming to expand the Persian Empire westward.

Purim, courage, and redemption Thus, the war against Haman was a missed opportunity for national Redemption—a lesson from history that resonates profoundly in our own times.

While Haman is indeed done away with, Esther remains queen. She and Ahasuerus, by tradition, will produce a child, Darius II, who will renew Cyrus’s permission for the Jews to rebuild the Temple.

In the role of King Ahasuerus is Cici Bryan; Mary Jeffries plays Haman. Mordecai is performed by Lucy Moritz and the Harem Keeper is Matthew Kyrouac. Pearl Jeffries plays the Narrator.