Mashhour’s Play on Violence at Toronto Fringe Festival

‘The Door and Objects,’ an Iranian play written and directed by theater director Mehdi Mashhour, 36, will go on stage at the 2017 Toronto Fringe Festival to be held from July 5-16.

Mashhour’s latest production, in collaboration with Saye Theater Group, will participate in the International Category of the festival. “Presently we are rehearsing for the show in form of a workshop,” he told Honaronline.

The play completes the earlier piece of the theater group, titled ‘The Door,’ staged in 2015 at Se-Noghte Hall in Tehran. It later appeared at many international events including the 9th Donzdorf International Theater Festival 2015 in Germany and 2016 New York Fringe Festival.

“The work deals with the issue of violence. Given the recent conflicts in the Middle East, we are witnessing various manifestations of violence,” Mashhour said. ‘The Door’ was also on Middle East issues dealing with migration.

“Before going to the Toronto Fringe, we’ll visit Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, to conduct a workshop on object theater” or object puppetry where everyday objects, instead of puppets and objects specifically designed for narrative function,  are used to create a story.

“At the workshop, we will expound on the status of object theater in contemporary forums,” he said.

The Toronto Fringe is part of the ‘Fringe movement,’ a worldwide network of indie theater festivals. As the name suggests, the movement is about celebrating under-represented voices and those on the margins of the performing arts world.

It is a festival where anyone can put up any show, without having to pass through a jury.