Since this is a collection of stage plays, all of which were written with the intention of being performed, our approach to translation, in both those plays that we translated and in those we edited in this volume, has been to create works that are ready to be produced on stage in English. Several of these plays have already been produced in English. Frequently, we have substantially changed the syntax and chosen English equivalents that are not necessarily the first, second or even third meanings found in standard Arabic-English dictionaries, but we believe they give the best sense of the original Arabic while simultaneously functioning well in the vernacular English that is the principal linguistic medium of the stage in the English-speaking world. Occasionally, as in the case of the word-game that appears in The Dictator, in which the text is based on puns that assume a sophisticated understanding of Arabic, we have substantially changed the literal meaning of the text and attempted to substitute analogous text that gives some sense of the original Arabic in English. Since many of the readers of this work will be scholars of Arabic literature and language we have utilized a simplified system of transliteration which maintains similarity with the Arabic spelling of words with the exception of words that are already found in English dictionaries or are Anglicized. We have maintained the difference between the letter hamza (ʾ) and the letter ʿayn (ʿ) but have foregone bars and dots above and below letters. All translated plays included in this volume—The Dictator by ʿIsam Mahfuz, The Jester, by Muhammad al-Maghut, The Rape, by Saʿd Allah Wannus, Baghdadi Bath by Jawad al-Asadi and Where Would I Find Someone Like You, ʿAli ? by Raʿida Taha—are intended for scholarly use and general readership. Performances must receive prior approval from the respective playwrights or estates, as well as the translators. The translation of The Dictator by ʿIsam Mahfouz is intended for academic purposes only and has not been authorized by his estate for performance purposes.