Renowned actor/director Atila Pesyani is staging Anton Chekhov’s play, ‘The Cherry Orchard’ in Tehran.
He said he was longing to work on it since 40 years, after he first saw it in 1972, directed by Arby Ovasnessian, cinema and theatre director, ISNA reported.
Chekhov’s last play, although is intended to be a comedy and does contain some elements of farce, yet some theatre directors see it as a tragedy.
The story concerns an aristocratic Russian woman and her family as they return to their family estate (which includes a large and well-known cherry orchard) just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage. The play ends with the sale of the estate to the son of a former serf and the family leaving the premises to the sound of the cherry orchard being cut down.
The story presents themes of “cultural futility, both the futile attempts of the aristocracy to maintain its status and that of the bourgeoisie to find meaning in its newfound materialism.”
One of the notable points about the play is that Fatemeh Naqavi dons the role of a male character, the royal family butler, Pesyani said.
Playing the role is challenging. “I was planning to do the role myself, but changed my mind and assigned it to Naqavi, who is a brilliant actress.”
“We added some rolling chairs to the stage, to provide the audience with a multi-dimensional view,” he said.
Small maquettes are seen in the stage settings, as is usual with Pesyani’s works.
“I’ve used small trees for decoration. In terms of aesthetics, I believe they contribute in creating an attractive stage.”
Setareh Pesyani, Navid Jahanzadeh, Bahareh Rahnama, Ramin Naser-Nasir and Fatemeh Naqavi are among the cast.
The show will be staged until November 30 at Chaharsoo theatre hall at City Theatre Complex, located on Vali-e Asr Ave. and Enqelab Ave. junction.
Atila Pesyani, 57, was born in Tehran in a family of artists and actors. He is the son of the late renowned actress Jamileh Sheikhi. He graduated from Tehran University in directing and acting in 1983. In the following year, he made his cinematic debut in ‘White Death’.
Pesyani is one of the most prolific actors in Iranian cinema. He is well known for his acting in ‘Devil’s Day’ (1994), ‘Two Women’ (1998), ‘Burnt Generation’ (1999) and ‘Water and Fire’ (2000).
He is also a veteran in directing, production, script supervising and casting.
