that inmate is blackbeard, an ailing godfather figure played by steve tientcheu, who made a lasting impression in the urban drama les miserables. nearing the end of his reign, blackbeard declares a new arrival to be roman, whose role it is to tell stories as if his life depended upon it. what follows is a strange and rather wonderful hybrid of tough prison drama and theatrical performance piece — with mime, dance, poetry, and oral history intertwinied in a whirling cinematic maelstrom. there's a fable—like element that links night of the kings back to the folkloric tales of 1,000 and one nights — with roman a modern—day scheherazade — and to the oral storytelling traditions of west africa. but lacote�*s cinematic storytelling is all his own, mixing the personal and political in a heady brew that's unlike anything else currently playing in uk cinemas.