Acclaimed Iranian theatre director Sohrab Salimi, is staging ‘Vanek’ at Baran Theatre Hall. The show was first staged in 2004.
Written by Vaclav Havel, (1936-2011) Czech writer, philosopher, dissident and statesman, the Vanek trilogy is a set of stories in which the main character Ferdinand Vanek first appeared in the play ‘Audience’. He subsequently appeared in three other Havel plays (Protest, Unveiling, and Dozens of Cousins), Fars News Agency reports.
Vanek, like Havel, was a dissident playwright, forced to work in a brewery because his writing was banned by the communist regime. In the course of the play, it becomes clear that the brew master was asked to become a spy. A long, rambling, comic dialogue proceeds, in which the brew master eventually becomes a sympathetic figure rather than a villain.
Salimi said the trilogy was staged earlier and welcomed by the audience. The play is a part of Havel’s social and political life story, “which will move towards magical realism in the upcoming performance.”
The theatre group has been making efforts to improve director-actor relations. Innovation in Mise en scène, music and lighting aim to create a memorable show, Salimi added.
Ahmad Saaichian, Reza Molaei and Shiva Ordoui, actors, along with Kamran Omid, composer, Navid Behtoui, stage designer and Negar Nemati, clothes designer, are in the cast.
From 1989 to 1992, Havel was the first democratically elected president of Czechoslovakia in 41 years. He then served as the first president of the Czech Republic (1993) after the Czech–Slovak split. Within Czech literature, he is known for his plays, essays, and memoirs.
The show opened on August 30 in the presence of Iraj Raad, renowned actor and CEO of the House of Theatre, Hamid Labkhandeh, director, Manouchehr Akbarloo writer and critic, Majid Jafari actor and Zandish Hamidi actress.
Pointing to the lack of theatre halls, Raad said: “Art will always find its way to the audience.”
Raad hailed the show as a memorable performance and said it was rich in meaning and will contribute to the domestic theatre industry.
Produced by Baran Theatre Co., ‘Vanek’ will be on stage until September 30.
