In the final days of a regime we see the terrible human cost when the quest for peace meets the quest for power.
Act 1
As curtain rises Hamadi, a Captain of the Guards, and Akila, his betrothed, are seen sitting, feeding each other dates and grapes in a vast desert. Hamadi is dressed in a military uniform, Akila in a long white dress. Reluctantly, they leave each other, in opposite directions, Hamadi toward the Presidential Palace, and Akila toward the upper left toward her house and The Square in the far distance.
In the Presidential Palace, the aging President is seen watching a large crowd of Protesters (Chorus) in the Square. He is unmoved and dismissive of them. The President has shown much cruelty to his people, but has deluded himself into believing he is loved and respected. He believes he has saved his country from its enemies within and without. His Military Guards pledge their support to him. Amongst themselves, however, they speak of his fading power, and decide to protect themselves and their own power if events turn against him.
Hamadi is standing guard at the palace, while he watches Akila in the distance at the window of the home where she lives with her father, Tarik. Hamadi sings of his love for Akila, and his worry that she will leave her home and go to join the protesters in the Square.
Akila’s father,Tarik, is an ex-military who has been raised from poverty to the ruling class by the President. She urges him to join her in the protest. He refuses, trying to persuade Akila to support the President. He tells her how different their lives would have been without his rule. He expresses his fear of war and
privation that will follow if the Protesters succeed in deposing the President.
The Military Guards and Akila sing in a quintet. The guards sing of how they have upheld their duties, protected their land, and mourned for their fallen comrades. They vow to take what is their due, while Akila sings of what is due to the Protesters.
The Protesters in the Square demand the President’s resignation, but they have divided motivations. Six different constituencies are represented: the Pious; the Militant; Poverty (with her child); the Patriot; the Youth; and the Cynic, each of whom addresses the audience. They make an uneasy alliance – each wanting change and power, each with different motivations.
The President addresses the crowd in the Square. He speaks to them paternalistically, telling them that he is their saviour and that all that he has done has been for the good of the country. He tells them to go home to sleep, and vows to stay on as ruler, claiming to only want a few months more. The Protesters respond that he is out of time. Poverty sings of how she cannot feed her child and must beg in the streets. They join together to demand that the President leave.
Act 2
The Protesters remain in the Square, pledging to stay day and night until the President leaves. Akila decides to join them in the Square, seeing that they are peaceful, and knowing that Hamadi will be there to protect her if necessary. She meets Hamadi in the Square and confronts him for his loyalty to the President. Hamadi responds that he is torn between his sense of duty and his love for her. He must leave with the military, but does not worry
because the Protesters are singing and the Military Guard is standing off to the sides. They make plans to meet later.
The Cynic sings of what will come, knowing that before peace will come rebellion, anarchy, and foreign government interference. Hoodlums suddenly stream into the Square, carrying bats, clubs, and swords. Mayhem beings. From the roofs of buildings around the square, fire bombs are thrown. A wild mêlée ensues. Protesters are pummelled and many are injured. During the chaos, the Privileged walk by nonchalantly. They know that they are not the object of the Hoodlums’ attacks. They sing of their support for the President. Poverty weeps for her child’s future and the hatred that has been sowed for the next generation.
Akila tries to protect the child of Poverty in the protest. A Hoodlum slashes at a protester and wounds Akila, who falls. Hamadi and Tarik rush in together but they cannot save her. She sings that she will leave nothing to change the lives of those she leaves behind, and that she will not be remembered. She dies, while the child of Poverty wanders the stage in a daze. Hamadi and Tarik lament her death.
Each of the protesting factions expresses their own disparate points of view. The Military Guards remind them that they had been asked not to intervene, so they had no reason to protect them from the Hoodlums.
In the palace, the President feels betrayed by his country. He castigates those who have deserted him, and asks for clemency and a few months more to rule so that he may die in his own land. A U.S. Representative enters, and pressures the President to resign. He questions why they have chosen him when there are many dictators across the Earth, and tells them that they will
regret this when chaos follows and the oil stops flowing. The Military Guard enters, telling the President that it is time to go. He resigns, reflecting on his life and his future with bitterness.
The Protesters in the Square celebrate his resignation, each with their own plans for the future. The Pious hopes for religion to lead the country, and calls for women to veil their faces. The Youth claim that the future belongs to them and celebrate that everything has been seen by the media. The Militant plans to control the institutions of power. The Cynic warns of what is to come. The child of Poverty wanders without direction. Hamadi and Tarik mourn the death of Akila, while the President mourns the loss of his country. The Cynic shrugs as the Protesters go their separate ways, some singing a joyous dance, others a sad lament.