The play ‘Hamlet: The Retribution Affair’, directed by Hossein Jamali, is on stage at Tehran’s Sayeh Theatre hall in City Theatre Complex.
Director Jamali said the play deliberately presents “contrast between eastern and western literature. We selected it, because of the availability of literary resources. This advantage will contribute to updating literary Persian techniques,” Honaronline quoted him as saying.
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is written by William Shakespeare, celebrated English poet, playwright, and actor (1564-1616), at an uncertain date between 1599 and 1602. Set in the Kingdom of Denmark, it dramatizes the revenge Prince Hamlet exacts on his uncle Claudius, who has murdered his own brother, Hamlet’s father King Hamlet, and subsequently seizes the throne, marrying his deceased brother’s widow, Hamlet’s mother Gertrude.
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest play and is among the most powerful and influential tragedies in English literature.
“Characterization and language make the story similar to Persian style of epic literature,” Jamali said. After an in-depth study, the audiovisual play was created “that can be introduced as an eastern version of a European text.” Timeless stories like Hamlet are richer with an “eastern narration style,” he believes.
The play was selected as the best script at the 16th Traditional and Ritual Theatre Festival (2013). It also received huge attention at the Fajr International Theatre Festival. “This encouraged us to enrich the performance and combine the story with more aesthetical elements in order to make a strong connection with the audience,” Jamali added.
He hoped Iranian performance styles would be increasingly focused on theatre.
Veteran performers Majid Rahmati, Farzin Mohaddes, Arastoo Khoshrazm, Fereidoun Mehrabi, Ali Amel Hashemi and Sara Abbaspour are among the cast.
The 80-minute play will run through October 19 at the theatre complex at the Enghelab and Vali-e-Asr Ave. junction.
