The play ‘Clown Nightmare’ directed and written by Mehdi Mousakhani is underway at Hafez Theatre Hall in Tehran.
A free adaptation of the novel ‘The Clown’ (1963) by West German writer Heinrich Boll (1917-1985), which reflects the German society under Hitler and in the postwar years. It criticizes many aspects of German society such as political and religious beliefs, marriage issues, the conflict between Catholics and Protestants and the effect of war on families.
Heinrich Boll revealed all of those postwar problems and related them to some psychological aspects that harmed a man with some weird beliefs like Hans Schnier (the clown character in the story).
A production of Performing Arts Workshop Artemia (working on experimental theater), the current show is a free adaptation of the original, with truncated dialogues, focusing on visual elements and motion, Mehr News Agency quoted Mousakhani as saying.
The play is based on the opinions of Polish theatre director and artist, Tadeusz Kantor (1915-1990), who always emphasized the visual nature of theatre, “believing that the theatre is something more to watch than hear,” he said.
Therefore, the precision in dialogues and rich visual elements are the main features of the show. “I’ve highlighted my own perception from the story, as everyone reading the novel could have a unique understanding.”
Amir-Ali Imanvand, Ayda Sadri, Shaqayeq Baqeri, Negin Basiri, Reyhaneh Taherverdi, Mojtaba Fallahi, Farshid Shayesteh and Mousakhani are among the cast.
The show will be on stage until January 20 at the hall, located at Mohammad Hossein Shahriar St., South Hafez St., Enqelab Ave.
