An overtly political one-act play, ‘One for the Road’, directed by Mehdi Saqa is underway at Da Theatre Hall in Tehran.
Written by Nobel Prize-winning English playwright, screenwriter, director and actor, Harold Pinter, the play is considered the author’s statement about human rights abuses by totalitarian governments, Honaronline reports.
But due to the tolerance and even support of such human rights abuses by the governments of western countries like the United States, Pinter emphasizes how such abuses might happen in or at the direction of these democracies too.
In the play, the actual physical violence takes place off stage. Pinter indirectly dramatizes such terror and violence through verbal and non-verbal allusions to off-stage acts of repeated human rights abuse. The effects of the violence that takes place off stage are, however, portrayed verbally and non-verbally on stage.
“I’ve almost read all works of Pinter and ‘One for the Road’ is a strong drama, portraying sadism in totalitarian societies,” Saqa said.
The characters, three members of a family, are tortured and interrogated by an inspector (Nicolas) with long monologues answered only with silence. The inspector is a symbol of a totalitarian regime, Saqa said.
“The play is short, presenting a specific political view. We have focused on the moments of silence,” he said, adding that the settings are well displayed thanks to the unique architecture of the theatre hall. It was earlier a bathhouse and water reservoir and “flawlessly portrays the mental and physical torture that happens in the inspection room.”
Meysan Ghanizadeh, Mehdi Vahidravesh, Ali Alirezalou and Mojdeh Qorbani are the cast.
The play will be on stage until November 21 at the theatre at no. 26, Jahanmehr St., Shahid Gomnam Ave., Fatemi Sq.
