The Iranian play ‘Hearing’ written and directed by Amir Reza Koohestani, is to be staged at the Festival of International New Drama (FIND) in Germany.
Koohestani will direct the play on April 13 and 14, among the other artists and their productions from Egypt, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland and Syria, ISNA reported.
The story begins at a women’s block in a student dormitory in Tehran. Bars on the windows, locks on the doors, fences enclosing the building, reinforced glass and a guard at the entrance gate make it almost impossible for strangers to penetrate this world reserved exclusively for women.
Yet on New Year’s Eve, a man’s voice and laughter was heard in one of the rooms of the block. Nobody saw the man but a letter is sent to the female house warden reporting the incident that is perceived as scandalous.
The rigid control and repression of the warden as well as of the entire academic system and the attempts by the female students to safeguard the last vestiges of their autonomy, paint a picture of a generation in Iran shaped by war, said the director.
A production by Mehr Theatre Group co-produced by La Batie-Festival de Geneve and BOZAR, Centre for Fine Arts Brussels, ‘Hearing’ was written while Koohestani stayed at the Akademie Schloss Solitude, a foundation in Stuttgart which provides residency fellowships for young gifted artists (October 2014-March 2015).
Koohestani, 38, received international recognition with his play ‘Dance on Glasses’ (2001). Alongside numerous acclaimed productions in Europe and Iran, he also directed his play ‘Einzelzimmer’ (literally single) (2006) for the Schauspielhaus Koln.
In cooperation with the filmmaker Mani Haghighi, he wrote the screenplay for the movie ‘Modest Reception’, which was shown at the Berlinale in 2012.
His productions are internationally known such as ‘Timeloss’, which premiered 2013 at the Festival Actoral in Marseille. In 2015, he produced ‘Taxigeschichten’ (literally taxi stories) at the Theater Oberhausen.
Slated for April 7-17, the FIND also includes workshops for international theatre students led by renowned theatre-makers from the international scene. This year’s special guest country is Turkey.
