Raymond Carver Stories Turned Into Play by Dakh

The play ‘Broken Window’, based on stories by American short-story writer and poet Raymond Carver (1938-1988), is currently on stage at the Performance House in Tehran.

Written by Iranian playwright, actor and theater director Hamidreza Naeemi and directed by Iranian stage director Saeed Dakh, the story is narrated in three episodes each dealing with the lives of middle-class people and focusing on human relationships rather than events, Honaronline reported.

Carver pioneered a precisionist realism reinventing the American short story during the 1980s. Set in trailer parks and shopping malls, they are stories of banal lives that turn on a seemingly insignificant detail.

As well as being a master of short story, he was an accomplished poet publishing several highly acclaimed volumes.

As Dakh said, the play has no special set design and there are only two stools on the stage since the emphasis is on the actors. “Our mise-en-scène does not refer to a specific time and place; what is important is the human relations, not where, when and how they are,” he added.

Also an actor, Dakh has a role in the play besides Mohammadreza Charkhtab, Maarjan Faridi, Elaheh Purjamshid, Alireza Asgari, Saeb Dado, Masoud Ramezanpur, Vida Shokravi and Sadaf Beyrami.

The play will run through February 24 at the venue located at No. 34, Mohammad Aqa Alley, Mousavi St., Ferdowsi Sq.

Two years ago, Dakh, 46, as a director and Naeemi, 42, as a screenwriter collaborated in the grotesque play ‘For 10 Dollars’.

Last year, Dakh staged ‘Doubt’ by American screenwriter and director John Patrick Shanley.