After 16 years, ‘Journey to the Extreme Far’ was granted permission for public staging, said its director and playwright Mohammad Miraliakbari.
It opened on July 12 at Charsou Hall of Tehran City Theater and will run through August 5. The play is supported by the Center for Performing Arts at Art Bureau of the Islamic Propagation Organization, YJC reported.
Miraliakbari, 41, has used a stylistic script with a well-defined structure in the play which is about people who turn to drugs “to have elated moments.”
A work of ‘Va Nagahan’ (literally ‘And Suddenly’) theater group, the cast rehearsed for six months before going on stage. Prolific actor Khosro Shahraz, 65, is among the actors.
“The surrealistic play shifts between illusion and reality. It focuses on dreams where people pursue what they lack in reality. They take to drugs to realize their dreams which are far removed from reality,” Shahraz said. Their hallucinations are the result of the effect of drugs.
Another actor, Majid Aqakarimi, 40, sees the performance as a surrealistic work addressing the recent global issues. “It actually discusses peace and denounces violence and war.”
Aqakarimi plays the role of an ordinary man who meets a wicked person and starts to turn into a monster. “My role shows how good turns into evil and goes beyond humanity.”
The play’s technical and theatrical sophistications are a surprise to the audience.
Other cast members are Arash Falahatpisheh, Behnaz Naderi, Mohammadreza Maleki, Masih Kazemi, Mehdi Nosrati, Kambiz Monsef, Ladan Nazi, Hamid Khoshnevis and Sahar Haqshenas.
The décor is by Rouzbeh Hosseini and set, light and costumes are by Ehsan Falahatpisheh. Sound and music is by Sajjad Kiani and makeup, by Hesam Heydari.
