“The Bald Soprano” to go on stage in Tehran in Persian, French

TEHRAN –(Iranart)- Iranian director Rahmat Amini plans to stage Romanian-French playwright Eugene Ionesco’s debut play “The Bald Soprano” in the Persian and French languages in Tehran.

“We are working on the play with a group of young actors, some of whom have a good command of French,” Amini has said.

He added that the troupe has begun rehearsals, but the exact time and place for the play has not been decided yet due to the coronavirus epidemic.

Written in 1950, the absurdist play centers on the Smiths, a couple from London, and another couple, the Martins, who come over for a visit.

The two families chatter in meaningless banter, tell stories and relate nonsensical truisms and poems. They are joined later by the Smiths’ maid, Mary, and the local fire chief, who is also Mary’s lover.

When the Martins and the Smiths are alone, they begin to argue without resolution or sense. The play ends with the Martins reciting the same lines spoken by the Smiths at the opening.

“The Bald Soprano” is considered a modern classic and a seminal work in the Theatre of the Absurd. It holds the world record for the play that has been staged continuously in the same theater for the longest time.

Several other Iranian directors have previously staged the play.

In the latest case, Hamidreza Moradi directed the play at Tehran’s Sepand Theater last December.

In addition, Farzad Dehnavi’s troupe Leilaj performed the play at Tehran’s Niavaran Cultural Center in 2012. 

The performance was based on the translation of “The Bald Soprano” by veteran Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui.

source: Tehran Times