It is both funny and scary. 'The Jitters' (Persian: Delpicheh), a comedy horror play by theater director Saeed Dolati will be staged on September 7 at Tehran's Homa-e-Saadat theater hall.
The play is written by writer, theater director and actor Asghar Garousi, 34. "It is about a young couple who have inherited an old house. After moving into the house, they realize that it is haunted by jinn," Dolati told Mehr News Agency.
Jinn, according to Islamic belief, are spirits capable of assuming human or animal form and exercising supernatural influence over people. In creating the supernatural ambience of the play, Dolati and his theater group adopted an approach that wouldn't "offend Muslim sensibilities and be humorous at the same time."
"The young couple initially makes attempts to fight off the jinn. Later they find themselves pandering to the creatures' every whim. Ultimately, both sides agree to a peaceful relationship," Dolati said.
"The jinn are the axial element of the play, which has a fantasy rendering. From the outset we decided it should be a fantasy narrative." But as to what makes it scary, Dolati only said that the ambience would induce fear.
Brochure of the play recommends that children under 12 and people with heart problems must not watch the show. "The audience will be scared out of their wits in some parts," Dolati said. Horror runs halfway through the play, before the audience come to terms with it and laughs with the jinn.
The young couple Bijan and Manijeh, are named after the characters of the famous love story in Ferdowsi's epic Shahnameh (Book of Kings). "The names are a paradox. Our Bijan and Manijeh are quite the opposite of the legend that we've heard so often. Bijan is under the strict matriarchal rule of Manijeh in the house."
"The jinn needed to be physically present on the stage so that the audience could see them, not just hear them. In the play they are deformed and artificial," Dolati said.
The show will run through October 1 starting at 6:30 pm every day. The venue is located at No 261, Ayatollah Kashani Street.
