Artistic leap

Students from the University of Sheffield's theatre workshop performed a play by His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, ruler of Sharjah, part of the United Arab Emirates. The production marked the Sheikh's receipt of an honorary degree for his work as statesman and scholar. Nimrod, one of a number of plays he has written, was directed by Dominic Shellard, the university's pro vice-chancellor for external affairs and chair of Sheffield Theatres Trust. The work is a parable of unrestricted power and dramatises the rise of King Nimrod and the construction of the Tower of Babel.

The Sheikh has invited the students to stage the production at the Sharjah Theatre Festival next March.