Bahram Beyzaie
A Contemporary Iranian Playwright (1938-)
by Reza Shirmarz
In this piece, I will examine Bahram Beyzaie as a playwright offering an analysis of his unique playwriting style in several of his dramatic works. While many scholars primarily regard Beyzaie as a filmmaker, theater director, researcher, and historian, his contributions to playwriting reveal an equally compelling and innovative side of his artistry.
Before launching his career as a playwright and filmmaker, Beyzaie engaged in extensive research into the origins and evolution of Iranian theater, examining Ta'zieh, Taghlid (mimicry), Naghghali (storytelling), and the role of theater in Eastern cultures, including those of China and Japan. His scholarly efforts produced significant contributions to the understanding of Eastern theatrical forms, which he later published to share his insights with a broader audience.
In the 1960s, Beyzaie began his prolific artistic career alongside other renowned Iranian dramatists like Akbar Radi and Gholam-Hossein Sa'edi, helping to shape modern Iranian theater. Over the decades, he created a remarkable body of work that includes plays celebrated for their innovation and cultural depth. Among his notable works are Three Puppet Plays (1963), Pahlavan Akbar Dies (1965), The Journalistic World of Mr. Asrari (1965), Soltan Mar (Snake King) (1966), Divan-e-Balkh (1968), Sindbad's Eighth Voyage (1971), Heritage (1976), Feast (1976), Arash (1977), The Losts (1987), and The Stormy Path of Farman the Son of Farman through the Darkness (1978).
Beyzaie continued his work into the 1980s and beyond with pieces such as The Death of Yazdgerd (1980), Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role (1982), Kalat Claimed (1982), The War of Slaves (1993), Harem (1998)—an award-winning play, The Scene of Cenmar's Compensation (2006), Afra or The Day Passes (2007), The Scene of Ali's Beating (2007), Lamentation (2008), and The 1001st Night (2009).
Over his career, Beyzaie has received multiple awards for his creative achievements, solidifying his legacy as one of Iran’s most influential and celebrated dramatists. His works remain a vital part of Iranian cultural heritage, celebrated both domestically and internationally for their insightful portrayal of Persian history, mythology, and societal themes.
Three Puppet Plays
(1963)
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| Bahram Beyzaie with Akbar Radi |
The puppet plays comprise three parts: The Puppets, The Sunset in a Strange Land, and The Story of the Hidden Moon. The Puppets itself includes two one-act plays: The Puppets and Scarecrows at Night.
In the first play, The Puppets, Morshed, the leader of the performance, invites the audience to watch the unfolding story. The protagonist, Pahlavan (the champion), faces the task of battling the "last demon" but refuses, wearied by his endless struggle. This time, he perceives the demon not as an external foe lurking in a distant castle but as something within himself. Despite encouragement from other characters—the trader, the poet, and others—to defeat this final threat and bring peace, Pahlavan hesitates. Eventually, a palm-reader persuades him to engage in the climactic battle, where both he and the demon perish. At the end, Pahlavan remarks that this was not, in fact, the last demon; there is no such thing as a "last demon."
In the second part, The Sunset in a Strange Land, Morshed once again invites the audience, setting the stage for a new encounter. He and a young girl discuss a legendary champion destined to capture the demon. When the champion arrives, the girl reveals her affection for him, and with Morshed, she encourages him to confront the demon. However, when the demon appears, it surprisingly surrenders and asks the champion to kill it. Wanting a fair fight, the champion resists, disturbed by the demon’s apathy and disinterest in life. As he tries to uncover the demon's inner darkness, he ultimately realizes that they are not enemies; rather, they should treat each other as brothers. This realization deeply frustrates Morshed, who is convinced the audience expects a dramatic clash between good and evil. Enraged, Morshed slays the champion, the demon, and the girl, revealing himself as the true demon.
In the final part, The Story of the Hidden Moon, Morshed once more gathers the audience to watch. Along with the girl, the Black, and a traveler, he reflects on the champion's previous defeat of the demon, which allegedly brought peace at the cost of his own life. The traveler claims he can resurrect the champion, though doing so will also revive the demon, thus rekindling their endless struggle. He proceeds with the resurrection, and the two figures return to a perpetual, unresolved battle, symbolizing an eternal conflict with no definitive end.
Pahlavan Akbar Dies
(1965)
This play is based on a well-known story connected with the famous Iranian Pahlavan called Pourya-ye Vali.
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| Pahlavan Akbar Dies (1972), directed by Bahram Beyzaie. Actors: Parviz Koshnoodi (right), Yadollah Shamloo & Hassan Qafouri |
This play unfolds in four acts. Pahlavan Akbar encounters the grieving mother of Pahlavan Heydar by a public drinking fountain. She weeps and prays for her son to triumph in the upcoming wrestling match against Akbar himself. Curious, Akbar approaches her without revealing his identity and listens to her heartfelt prayers.
Pahlavan Heydar is deeply in love with the daughter of Salar Baig, whose family insists that for them to marry, Heydar must first defeat Akbar and earn the championship armband, a symbol of honor and acclaim. Moved by the mother's sorrow, Akbar assures her that her son will emerge victorious. However, this promise throws him into inner turmoil. If Akbar wins, he’ll break a promise to a desperate mother; if he loses, he risks destroying his reputation and lifelong achievements. Suicide even crosses his mind, yet he realizes this drastic step would leave the championship armband in his name regardless. Just then, a mysterious man in black, a persistent presence in Akbar’s life, reappears and urges him to consider that perhaps taking his own life is the only honorable way forward.
The Journalistic World of Mr. Asrari
(1965)
The Journalistic World of Mr. Asrari is a full-length modern play in seven scenes. Location: Tehran, around 1961.
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| The Journalistic World of Mr. Asrari Performed in Iran, Ahvaz (2016) Director: Ali Asqar Shadravan |
Scene 1: Jahangir Asrari, the nephew and designated successor of the Iran Mosavar Magazine director, publishes a story in his own name that was actually written by the magazine’s typist, Shirzad. When the director discovers the plagiarism after publication, he promises Shirzad that he’ll make amends in the next issue. Scene 2: Despite the plagiarism, Shirzad is promoted within the magazine as his story gains unexpected popularity, boosting both his reputation and the magazine’s credibility. However, the director refuses to transfer the story’s rights to Shirzad. Instead of offering financial support, he pressures Shirzad to write more stories, which will continue to be credited to the director’s nephew. Facing financial difficulties, Shirzad reluctantly agrees. Scene 3: The magazine’s fame skyrockets, and the director, focused on future success, manipulates Shirzad into giving up rights to another story. A woman visits the office and asks to meet the talented author behind these beloved stories, just as Shirzad’s hardships grow. Scene 4: Rumors begin to circulate in the office about the true author of the popular stories, and Shirzad finally confides in the woman about the bleak situation he’s been enduring. Scene 5: The woman returns to confront the director and threatens to expose the real author and destroy their falsely built reputation. In the midst of this confrontation, Shirzad tries to stand up for himself but is swiftly fired. Scene 6: Now unemployed, Shirzad seeks work at other publishers, but they dismiss him. He doubts his claims or fears backlash from Iran Mosavar Magazine. Even other magazines hesitate to hire him, worried about potential conflict with the powerful publication. Scene 7: Iran Mosavar Magazine reaches new heights of fame and plans a grand celebration to honor the “distinguished” writer whose stories brought them such acclaim. A collection of these stories is set to be published. In the play’s final moments, Shirzad returns and pleads for a job and challenging them to hire him if they aren’t afraid of the truth. The director coldly replies, “We’ll give you a job because we’ve set a trap for you. Start tomorrow if you dare.”
Overall, this play, at its core, explores the enduring theme of "copyright" and the profound impact that its violation can have on the lives of writers, artists, and their communities. Through its narrative, the play delves into the complexities of intellectual property rights and highlights the ethical and personal consequences when authorship is misattributed or stolen. Additionally, the play examines social injustice and presents it as a pervasive force that shapes the experiences of creative individuals which often leaves them vulnerable to exploitation. The portrayal of these issues is intentional while inviting the audience to consider not only the legal ramifications but also the moral and societal implications of such injustices.
Sultan Mar (Snake King )
(1966)
This play is based on an Iranian folkloric story which is based originally upon an Afghan folklore called Bibi Negar and Mirza Qastehqomar.
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| Snake King (2017) in Art Theater, director: Ahmad Eslami Ziraki |
In this one-act play, we meet a king and his minister, both burdened by childlessness. Guided by a dervish, they’re advised to each take an apple from a sacred garden and have their wives eat it, with the promise that the king will have a son and the minister a daughter, destined to be future spouses. Following the dervish's counsel, the minister’s wife gives birth to a daughter, but the queen unexpectedly bears a snake. Heartbroken, the king takes his own life leaving the snake as his successor. Years later, the snake-king expresses his desire to marry the minister's daughter, Ms. Negar. Initially horrified, Ms. Negar plots to kill him but soon discovers his true nature: he is actually a kind-hearted young man cursed to appear as a snake to instill fear in the treacherous court members. Falling deeply in love, Ms. Negar decides to burn his snakeskin to reveal his true form permanently. However, this act backfires, and the young king disappears and leaves her devastated. Determined to reunite with him at any cost, Ms. Negar embarks on a quest and ultimately finds and convinces him to reclaim his throne. Together, they return to the court, overthrow the corrupt and malicious members, and restore order. Yet, rather than remain in power, they leave the court behind and choose a humble and peaceful life together away from the royal world.
Divan-e-Balkh
(1968)
Beyzaie's play is based on a 1000-year-old folkloric story in which the residents of Balkh feel content with a decent noble judge who is the symbol of justice, although the bullies of the city consider him as a serious impediment to their illegal and inhumane desires and activities. Therefore, they set him up, get rid of him, and replace him with an untrustworthy judge who has an indecent history. The new judge acts on behalf of the city authorities and lobbies while the citizens remain silent and patient due to the sheer terror inflicted upon them. One day a citizen of Balkh called Mehrak comes to seek justice in the corrupted court of law. He has borrowed 500 dirhams from a Jew called Sham'oon and needs to pay back 650 dirhams including the interest rate, otherwise the Jew will have the right to cut off a piece of Mehrak's thigh. At the end of the year, the money-lender, Sham'oon, comes to take back the loan and its interest while Mehrak has lost the whole amount and asks for more time to pay off his debt. Sham'oon does not agree with the postponement and sues the debtor to the court of law after a violent quarrel. On their way to the court, Mehrak blinds someone's horse and the horse owner sues him as well. His accusations escalate when he comes across a man who is sentenced to be buried alive by the new judge and decides to escape. As a result of his escape, a pregnant woman miscarries her baby.
Making his best attempts to run away, he also jumps on the belly of a sick old man and puts an end to his life and cuts off the tail of a donkey trapped in mud, but finally, he does not manage to flee and he and his plaintiff arrive at the court. The judge gives primarily an ostentatious speech on justice and the legal and human rights of the citizens and his religious thoughts about the other world and the advantages of benevolence and cordiality but soon gives the Jew the right to cut off Mehrak's flesh based upon their agreement. Sham'oon finds the verdict inexecutable and wants to leave, but the judge demands a cost of 650 dirhams to let him go away since they have wasted the time and energy of the court. The next plaintiff is the horse owner. The judge asks him to cut the blind horse in half and claim his loss for the blind half of the horse. Obviously, the owner of the horse takes back his complaint but the judge lets him go at the price of a pay-off. The judge comes to a weird decision about the mother who has lost her baby. He orders Mehrak to make her pregnant again to pay off for his wrongdoing. In the case of the sick old man, he orders the son of the dead man to take care of Mehrak for 44 years and then take revenge by jumping on his belly and killing him. The donkey owner who observes the whole situation denies his complaint as well and says "My donkey had no tail since its birth." At the end of the court, the judge asks Mehrak to serve him as his assistant and that is how Mehrak witnesses the endless corruption of the judiciary system and the detestable actions of the judge. Finally, Mehrak revolts and overthrows the unscrupulous and palm-greasing authorities of Balkh and allows the real representatives of the people to serve them properly and honestly.
Text Analysis: It is important to mention that Sham'oon, the Jew, and Mehrak could be compared to Shakespeare Shylock and Antonio in his The Merchant of Venice. Apart from such similarities, why the play Divan-e-Balkh is important, and which aspects of Iran's history does it reveal? This play depicts the story of how the court of law and justice system trumps up the whole situation to its benefit and contributes to the downfall of human ethics. In Beyzaie's belief, power is the main source of corruption and the prosperity of a society depends directly upon the political power behind the throne as well as how the authorities who exercise power use it to exploit people or provide them with their human rights. In a word, Beyzaie's play reveals the interaction between the power sources, whether political, legal, or religious, and the socioeconomic and ethical statuses of a society in the Persianate world. The Iranian playwright dramatizes the role of politics, religion, and law in shaping the very existence of its residents and the way that citizens' rights are profoundly violated or ignored. Kingdoms or governments are the main reasons for the criminalization of the societies they are ruling over. The criminalization of government or the governmentalization of crime could be considered as the main themes of Divan-e-Balkh which illustrates the manifestation of power, religion, and law in contemporary Iran.
Sindbad's Eighth Voyage
(1971)
At the outset of the play, we get to know that the ruler of the neighboring city tends to send a group of actors and musicians to the wedding party of the governor's young son to entertain the guests. On the other hand, Sindbad has come back to the city after a long time, but he finds his own city so unfamiliar. That is why he is looking for a sign to prove that this is his motherland while the guests come along and surround him and his friends thinking that they are the artists sent by the governor of the neighboring city. Sindbad comes across a magician called Noofal the Merchant. He saves the merchant's life in a dangerous situation but gets so badly injured that he might die at any moment. In the meantime, the rich man gives him his wealth in return for his gallantry and intrepidity. Sindbad reviews his seven voyages through which he looks for the truth and felicity after losing tragically in a love affair. He sets out to find the Jar of Happiness, endures hardship and loses a number of his sailors and companions. Acquiring wealth is the purpose of his first voyage. His second voyage is for love. Sindbad travels to China to ask for the hand of the king's daughter, but the princess has already passed away. The third voyage is made for the sake of the meaning of felicity. Sindbad's fourth voyage begins in search of happiness, however, he loses his companions due to the plague. Sindbad goes to India, on his fifth voyage, to find the meaning of well-being and fortune while on his sixth voyage, he strives to reach out to the Jewish, Christian, and Indian thinkers and ask them about the meaning of felicity and happiness. This is where Sindbad turns from the external voyage to some sort of internal voyage due to the recommendation of the thinkers and philosophers who have adopted a long-term silent life. For them, silence is a path through self-knowledge. Sindbad and his sailors are exiled from the city on their seventh voyage and the eighth voyage is his death. The last sentence he utters is: "You see the death, whenever you doubt in yourself, whenever the path is closed from every direction." He never gives in and swears that he will find the meaning of truth even if it takes a thousand years and starts his eighth voyage which is death, a voyage that comes to an end even before it begins.
Text Analysis: One of the most important characters in Beyzaie's play is Death, who has designed the whole game. Death is the core concept of the play and the central meaning of Sindbad's life as a sailor. In fact, Sindbad's Eighth Voyage is an interaction between death and truth and Sindbad tries not only to decipher the truth of death, but also endeavors to unravel the social manifestation of the death of truth. Having said that, Beyzaie's play can be considered as a post-truth dramatization of Iranian society at the time he wrote the play. Moreover, the playwright has effectively used his findings in terms of Ta'zieh in order to give it a domestic empirical taste as well as a modern flavor. Far East theater could be tracked down in this play in the form of signs and dramatic techniques as well. Furthermore, linguistically speaking, the play is teemed with rhythmic forms which beautifies the flow of each dialogue and its correlation to upcoming ones in a dynamic way. I watched a performance of this multi-faceted play directed by Kiomars Moradi more than two decades ago. The central stage was a circular platform which could be flexibly converted into various multifunctional forms in order to serve the purpose of each scene. I believe that stage design was the core element of the performance upon which other elements such as acting, lighting design as well as costume design depended.
Heritage and Feast
(1976)
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| Heritage directed by Asgar Qalili in Sangelaj Theater (2016) |
Heritage is the first part of a collection of two one-act plays published first time 45 years ago. The main characters of the play are three brothers. The elder brother has invited the other ones to come to the house inherited from their father. They are willing to decide about the house and their father's will. The elder brother insists on sticking to their father's will and living there together. In contrast, the younger brother has more modern characteristics and wants them to renew and rebuild every part of the house. They are all involved in such discussions while thieves break in and steal the antique priceless furniture of the house. They do not pay attention to the burglary until one of the burglars lets them know that soon the house will explode in search of an old treasure hidden beneath it. The ignorant brothers go on with their arguments... Feast is the second part of the collection in which a shepherd wants to leave his herd in the hands of the headman (the village chief) and go wounded after a wolf that has attacked his livestock. The headman invites him to his daughter's wedding as he tries to dissuade him from following the wolf and putting his life in danger for the sake of a flock of sheep. However, the shepherd's decision is not for appreciation but his own sense of duty. Another headman enters and accuses the shepherd of unaccountability and tells everybody that there is no wolf around and he has to run away for his own sake and benefit. Although the shepherd feels a bit concerned and hesitant about what he has just observed, the first headman agrees on the spot to take care of his flock. The shepherd goes off to face the wolf and soon the headman asks his footman to sharpen the knife to slaughter the herd of sheep.
Arash
(1977)
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| Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam in Arash performed in West Vancouver (2016) |
The Lost
(1987)
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| The Losts directed by Ramin Rasti, Iran, Tabriz City Theater (2015) |
A knavish unreliable schoolmaster called Talhak (i.e. clown) teaches his only dumb student how to be good and kind as well as how to be a passionate human being, although he reveals his evil nature after a short time. All good talk and not a single good action! A landlord who is the villagers' master as well has returned from the pilgrimage to Mecca and is speechless since then talking to nobody in the village. He has nightmares until morning, suffers from his wrongdoings, and begs for an opportunity to make up for his bad actions, but he wakes up in the morning reborn as a villain. Talhak teases him roguishly by reminding him of the past and his filthy mischievous actions. The landlord hungers for doing something good, but he exacerbates the whole situation whatever he does. He finally sees the people following or carrying his casket. Talhak continues his lessons on good charitable actions, etc. with the speechless student, but this time the boy breaks his silence and tell him: "You better shut down your school. I've already learned all. It's all bullshit! It's all bullshit!"
The Stormy Path of Farman the Son of Farman through the Darkness
(1978)
A servant begins to narrate the story of a man who thinks that the soul of one of his ancestors has reincarnated in his body and lives with him. Farman is the son of a landlord who has just passed away. He has inherited many things from his father including a house and his huge outstanding debts which he does not know how to pay or even how to get rid of the creditors especially the greedy money changer and the pig-headed merchant. He also tries not to lose the house. In the middle of such a mess, two siblings from a village appear and claim that their dead father owed some money to the landlord. They want to pay their father's debt, but the problem is that they have no money and want instead to work for Farman. Farman endeavors a lot to get rid of them but it seems impossible and therefore, he lets them stay and work as his servants. From time to time, Farman is captured by his ancestor's soul and sees the rural girl as a beautiful princess whom he wishes to marry.
Text Analysis. The one-act play is in fact a reference to, as Beyzaie once mentioned, the confrontation of a nation with the ruins of its past and its cultural roots which offers nothing but fear, stress, and frustration. That is why the playwright calls it "The Stormy Path..." Farman wants to identify his lost identity but comes up against several irremovable barriers and insurmountable difficulties. Even he loses sight of the present being submerged in his ambiguous past.
Four Trunks
(1979)
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| Four Boxes directed by Anahita Zeynivand Rokneddin Khosravi Theater (2016) |
This play consists of two scenes. In the first scene, four people in yellow, green, red, and black decide to make a scarecrow to safeguard their life and well-being. They work together and create a formidable armed scarecrow, which becomes alive and threatens them to abide by his rules from now on. The scarecrow tortures and coerces each to build a trunk and step into it. In the second scene, the fearsome scarecrow is the absolute power and the people are forced to stay in their trunks until he gives an order. The scarecrow asks them one by one about their lives and they express their jubilance and vivacity in an exaggeratingly ostentatious way. When the scarecrow goes to rest, they jump out of their trunks and talk about the misery and calamity they are going through. Eventually, they decide to break their trunks and unarm the scarecrow. The person in black is hesitant since he believes that someone will finally come to save them. The other three convince him that nobody is coming to save them and they must do it all by themselves. The black grabs an ax and breaks his trunk ferociously into pieces. Now the other ones hesitate about their future and the consequences they are going to face. Time passes and they do not overthrow the scarecrow. At the time of sunrise, they get back into their trunks except the black who has no trunk to hide in. He does not tend to do so, and therefore, stands against the scarecrow...
Text Analysis: Four Trunks appears to be one of the most political as well as symbolic plays of Bahram Beyzaie. Every one of the people is the representative of a certain social class in Iran after the coup d'état in 1953 when Iran became more industrialized and modern even though a majority of Iran's population was illiterate and poor. While the scarecrow is the symbol of the ruling class, the yellow has the characteristics of the elite since he is the first one who feels the danger and lets the others know about the scarecrow's aggression, the green bears a resemblance to the traditional and religious part of the society who pretend to be wise and knowledgeable but nobody can, in fact, understand their thoughts and beliefs, the red is a representative of the economic power having a hidden profitable agreement with the green, and the black depicts the ordinary people who suffer from their poverty and deprivation. Four Trunks shows a society that struggles to create a balance through innovations, recreation, amendments, conflict, and revolutionary movements while change can only be made by the masses.
The Death of Yazdgerd
(1980)
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| Mehdi Hashemi (the miller pretending to be the king), in a film based on the play directed by Bahram Beyzaie |
The Death of Yazdgerd is a historical play focusing on the life and death of Yazdgerd III, the last king of the Sasanian dynasty. The location of the play is in Merv, a city in central Asia. It begins when the Persian king, based on historical evidence, has fled from his palace and has taken shelter in a mill where he has been slain by the miller for his royal wealth. Now the members of the royal court have tracked him down, have stepped into the mill, and have found their king's dead body on the floor. They want to punish the killers of their king, i.e. the miller, his wife, and his daughter, which is why they investigate them with a deluge of questions. With the assistance of his wife, the miller, at some point, pretends to be the king who has killed the miller now lying down on the floor. Then the girl intervenes and recreates a scene in which the king wants to seduce her mother and her father takes a revengeful action and murders the licentious womanizer. In the final part of the play, followed by his colleagues, the commander-in-chief is shocked at facing the stark reality and changes his mind asking his assistants to hang the body of the dead king instead of the miller.
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| The Death of the King is a modern adaptation of Beyzaie's play directed by Soheil Parsa Toronto Theater (2016) |
Text Analysis: The Death of Yazdgerd is a historical narrative that contains several internal narratives of how the king who fled his palace scared of the Arab Invasion was killed. A series of contradictory narratives boosts up the level of uncertainty and decreases the degree of certainty about the death of the king of the kings. Concurrently, an internal conflict arises between the royal class and the working people while the audience observes an external threat, Arabs invading the borders of Iran, getting closer every moment and threatening both aforementioned social classes. The play was written exactly when the Ayatollahs threatened the Shah of Iran and took him down from the throne of power. It is definitely a contemporary analogy based on a historical narrative, which means that Beyzaie uses history and its uncertainties to warn its own society that what is coming next might not be at all what is hoped to be. Therefore, the playwright does not limit himself to the boundaries of history but draws the attention of his audiences to what is going on now. In terms of language, it is paramount to know that Beyzaie effectively mixes the archaic language with the contemporary colloquial and conversational type of speaking to empower his bridge between the past and present in addition to creating splendid moments of rhythmic dialogues bouncing off naturally throughout the play.
Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role
(1982)
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| Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role directed by Afshin Zamani in Tehran, Iranshahr Theater (2019) |
Two jobless villagers come to the capital city (Tehran) to find a job. They look everywhere and spend the money they have got, but there is no job they might fit in. They are wandering aimlessly around the city when a woman called Belqais introduces them to an employer. Along with other miserable people, they play different roles ordered by their boss every day, for instance, one day they cheer up the audience in a public speech and the other day they encourage people to support certain people in public events. They appear as sweepers, farmers, employees, party members, etc. in the streets and put fake votes into the ballots at the time of presidential elections. Gradually they take more serious roles, for example, they appear as the parents of students who have joined the anti-governmental demonstrations and ask the authorities to punish their children, bludgeon the students and the protestors to death, or attack the protesting workers' houses in the poor regions to vilify them and ruin their reputation. One of them called Moohebat is not happy at all with what they do for a living and finally, quits and finds a decent job at a mosaic factory. Belqais joins the protestors after witnessing a student brutally killed. She joins the protestors more eagerly when she gets arrested once. However, Zolfaqar remains in the job and eventually gets shot on the day teachers go on strike and demonstrate.
Kalat Claimed
(1982)
Toyqan and Togayqan are two rival Mongol champions and each one has established and enhanced a considerable reputation in their region. Toyqan tends to get rid of his competitor but Togayqan preempts his plan, captures him, keeps him in captivity, embellishes him like a whore, takes him out on tour around the city and eventually cuts off his head. Ay Banoo, Toyqan's wife, decides to take revenge. She employs her feminine wiles to persuade a couple of commanders to assist her in such a daunting task. They storm his house and apprehend him. Disguised in her husband's outfit, Ay Banoo comes to humiliate the enemy and killer of Toyqan first pretending to forgive him, but Togayqan recognizes her in disguise and takes his own life with a dagger. This is how Ay Banoo becomes the ruler of the two regions. However, we realize after a while that Toyqan has skipped death. He comes to see Ay Banoo and reprimands her for getting involved in his matters as well as his personal revenge. His wife reveals that the main reason why she murdered his rival was that he affronted women outrageously, otherwise, she would have avoided any act of vengeance since he, such a villain, deserved to be arrested and slayed. Afterward, she sends two of her champions to fight her husband. At the end of the play, she, as the head of the Mongol troops, orders to stop bloodshed and restore peace. She sends some soldiers as well to eliminate the murderers of her husband. Standing over the body of her husband, Ay Banoo says: "This is the way you showed me." Then she gets ready to promote peace in the land she is going to rule over.
Text Analysis: The ironic playfulness of the language is one of the major characteristics of Kalat Claimed. Again, the playwright has endeavored to use various complicated linguistic structures to recreate the history in a modern dramatic form.
The Squires' Account of War: A Farce
(1993)
This is a one-act play, a farce. The slaves of three Pahlavans (champions), Almas (a real slave), Mubarak (a masked woman who has fled from his authoritarian brother), and Yaqoot (a coward champion disguised as a slave to stand on the safe side), are having a conversation at the beginning of the play. Almas has been working for his new boss who is a legendary Pahlavan for seven years, but Yaqoot kicked off his work yesterday and he has not been employed yet. The boss of Almas is going to have a war in defense of his sister's honor. The legendary Pahlavan and his competitors start bragging about themselves and their achievements before waging a brutal war on each other. The slaves who look up to their bosses also praise their deplorable actions, however, at the end of the battle, the death of the Pahlavans set their slaves free. Almas betrays his boss in the final moments of the play and finds his disobedience quite pleasant.
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| The Squires' Account of War; A Farce designed and directed by Mohsen Hosseini, National Theater (2019) |
Text Analysis: This farcical play represents the history of Iran in a linguistically rich narrative. As in most of his historical plays, history, for Beyzaie, is a text that needs to be reconsidered, reinterpreted, and represented in a new ironic parodied form. What's more is that Iran's history is full of wars and Beyzaie creates a farcical dramatic atmosphere in his play to depict the bitter destructive war experiences in a comic tone. In addition, the slaves have double identities which helps the playwright to reveal the deeper layers of their characters as well as the whole dramatic situation through irony.
Bahram Beyzaie's Other Plays:
Harem (1998), The Scene of Cenmar's Compensation (2006), Afra or The Day Passes (2007), The Scene of Ali's Beating (2007), Lamentation (2008), The 1001th Night (2009)
I'd heard about this playwright but I didn't know he's got so many works. Unbelievable. Thanks!
ReplyDeletePerfect. Good to know such a prolific playwright.
ReplyDeleteStrong cultural aspects of his play really fascinated me...
ReplyDelete