The 1001 Malam Acting Project, funded by Erasmus came from an initiative of Sardono Kusumo, Rektor of Institut Kesenian Jakarta (IKJ). Sardono invited Liminal Theatre’s Co-Artistic Director, Robert Draffin and Slamet Rahardjo, Director of Theatre Popular, to hold an intensive 8 week acting workshopat Theatre Popular Sanggar in Jakarta .

The aim was to engage Indonesian performers in a process drawn from both contemporary and traditional arts practice, using the stories of the 1001 Nights as inspiration. The actors were selected from students and alumni of IKJ, as well as independent performers in Jakarta and the wider Jalarta area. 60 actors began the process in August 2007. and 20 were chosen in November 2007 to create a public showing.