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Iranian Drama: An Anthology
English, Persian (translation)
302 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 1989
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January 31, 2016
This collection of plays is exceptional in a number of respects. Not only does its corpus construct a compelling portrait of the political and artistic community in Iran during the 1960's and 1970's; but it is a profoundly affecting and well-written collection (some pieces were, naturally, better than others). These plays aren't found in similar collections that have been translated into English. Best of all, M.R. Ghanoonparvar's introduction provides a great deal of context regarding the development of Iranian drama in the form it takes in each of the plays, and their general inspiration. The works inside include:
1. Workaholics in the Trenches, by Gholamhoseyn Sa'edi
This is an examination both of how modernization is altering traditional vocational and family structures, and a fairly cynical evaluation of the moral indemnity (or lack thereof) of everyone involved. It is a simple story lacking the grandiose symbolism that pervades the other pieces (it is about a businessman who is expanding his enterprise at the expense of traditional landholders and struggling to stop distancing himself from his wife) and so the dialogue in this particular work was more organic than the others, and thoroughly enjoyable.
2. Honeymoon, by Gholamhoseyn Sa'edi
This is something of a dystopian piece examining the effects of surveillance and behavioral conditioning occurring under totalitarian settings upon an initially young and benign couple who are abused by the presence of a "Guest", an intimidating old woman dressed all in red. It is a bit over-the-top, a bit heavy-handed, and so likely the weakest piece in the collection. Nonetheless, much of the imagery is vivid and memorable.
3. Sly, Sadeq Chubak
This piece is about a poor young man who moves to the city for work and becomes smitten with a young maid therein who disdains him for his origin. The strain of his yearning and his shame at her contempt and mockery form an interesting psychological study of what happens to individuals as modernization and urban migration causes worlds to collide.
4. Marionettes, Bahram Beyza'i
This piece uses the format and stock characters of a traditional Iranian drama, complete with a hero, the typical racistly portrayed sidekick, a demon, a woman, and the demanding townspeople, to examine the effects of scripting, and of proscribed roles, on persons. The dialogue between the narrator, hero, and sidekick in particular are quite profound and frequently poetical and make it an extremely rewarding read.
5. Four Boxes, Bahram Beyza'i
This is likely the best play in the entire collection. Four characters, each symbolizing different social classes, create a scarecrow to protect them against a nebulous, barely felt menace. The scarecrow turns out to be a despot, however, and soon conquers them by turning them against one another. Through a series of attempts by these characters to rally against the scarecrow, it becomes apparent that it is not its force of arms that oppresses them, but their own interests. The dialogue is profoundly human in spite of the abstract form the play takes, and even heart-wrenching at the end.
6&7 The Essence of Waiting and Blind Expectation, by Nader Ebrahimi
Both these pieces share a similar cast and setting. An old man and woman wait by a window, seemingly for the birth of a child. Ebrahimi uses various devices to illustrate the passage of time and its psychological ravages on the characters to the audience, many of which are quite successful.
8. On the Shore, by Mohsen Yalfani
This is the story of a man seeking to take his life in order to end a life of shame with a measure of dignity, to illustrate that he was the innocent party, that he was "sacrificed" to everyone's cruelty. He hesitates, replaying the events of his life, whilst a second man tries to persuade him to commence with the act. Their dialogue forms an interesting interrogation of the very concept of martyrdom.
9. Law, by Mahmud Rahbar
This is an extremely short piece, only about three or four pages. A guard and a senator argue about who is to blame for the coming revolution and who it is, truly, that has transgressed the bounds of the law and deserves its protection. It is perhaps a bit too obvious for the play to be effective, making it one of the weaker works in the collection.
10. Barracks in the Evening, by Faramarz Talebi
A number of soldiers under the Shah compete for favor and to show their loyalty to their superiors, only to be consumed by the very process they are participating in. The play ends on a genuinely surprising note, and manages in very few pages to say a great deal about the reliability of institutions and authority.
In summary, an eminently worthy collection that does honor to the beauty of Iranian literature, even if the translation was awkward in places. I would highly recommend it.
1. Workaholics in the Trenches, by Gholamhoseyn Sa'edi
This is an examination both of how modernization is altering traditional vocational and family structures, and a fairly cynical evaluation of the moral indemnity (or lack thereof) of everyone involved. It is a simple story lacking the grandiose symbolism that pervades the other pieces (it is about a businessman who is expanding his enterprise at the expense of traditional landholders and struggling to stop distancing himself from his wife) and so the dialogue in this particular work was more organic than the others, and thoroughly enjoyable.
2. Honeymoon, by Gholamhoseyn Sa'edi
This is something of a dystopian piece examining the effects of surveillance and behavioral conditioning occurring under totalitarian settings upon an initially young and benign couple who are abused by the presence of a "Guest", an intimidating old woman dressed all in red. It is a bit over-the-top, a bit heavy-handed, and so likely the weakest piece in the collection. Nonetheless, much of the imagery is vivid and memorable.
3. Sly, Sadeq Chubak
This piece is about a poor young man who moves to the city for work and becomes smitten with a young maid therein who disdains him for his origin. The strain of his yearning and his shame at her contempt and mockery form an interesting psychological study of what happens to individuals as modernization and urban migration causes worlds to collide.
4. Marionettes, Bahram Beyza'i
This piece uses the format and stock characters of a traditional Iranian drama, complete with a hero, the typical racistly portrayed sidekick, a demon, a woman, and the demanding townspeople, to examine the effects of scripting, and of proscribed roles, on persons. The dialogue between the narrator, hero, and sidekick in particular are quite profound and frequently poetical and make it an extremely rewarding read.
5. Four Boxes, Bahram Beyza'i
This is likely the best play in the entire collection. Four characters, each symbolizing different social classes, create a scarecrow to protect them against a nebulous, barely felt menace. The scarecrow turns out to be a despot, however, and soon conquers them by turning them against one another. Through a series of attempts by these characters to rally against the scarecrow, it becomes apparent that it is not its force of arms that oppresses them, but their own interests. The dialogue is profoundly human in spite of the abstract form the play takes, and even heart-wrenching at the end.
6&7 The Essence of Waiting and Blind Expectation, by Nader Ebrahimi
Both these pieces share a similar cast and setting. An old man and woman wait by a window, seemingly for the birth of a child. Ebrahimi uses various devices to illustrate the passage of time and its psychological ravages on the characters to the audience, many of which are quite successful.
8. On the Shore, by Mohsen Yalfani
This is the story of a man seeking to take his life in order to end a life of shame with a measure of dignity, to illustrate that he was the innocent party, that he was "sacrificed" to everyone's cruelty. He hesitates, replaying the events of his life, whilst a second man tries to persuade him to commence with the act. Their dialogue forms an interesting interrogation of the very concept of martyrdom.
9. Law, by Mahmud Rahbar
This is an extremely short piece, only about three or four pages. A guard and a senator argue about who is to blame for the coming revolution and who it is, truly, that has transgressed the bounds of the law and deserves its protection. It is perhaps a bit too obvious for the play to be effective, making it one of the weaker works in the collection.
10. Barracks in the Evening, by Faramarz Talebi
A number of soldiers under the Shah compete for favor and to show their loyalty to their superiors, only to be consumed by the very process they are participating in. The play ends on a genuinely surprising note, and manages in very few pages to say a great deal about the reliability of institutions and authority.
In summary, an eminently worthy collection that does honor to the beauty of Iranian literature, even if the translation was awkward in places. I would highly recommend it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review