Social Drama at Hafez Hall

A social drama ‘The Writer is Dead,’ written and directed by playwright, theater director and actor Arash Abbasi, 40, is underway at Tehran’s Hafez Hall until May 3.

Abbasi’s play opened on April 6 and is a character-based drama about a challenging collaboration between a young writer and a celebrated cinema actress.

It centers on a superstar Leyli Rahimi, who after years of professional acting, plans to direct a film for the first time. Her film script is written by Farhad, a young playwright, who just before the shooting starts, comes up with a new suggestion.

‘The Writer is Dead’ was written eight years ago. “A significant part of the play was developed during rehearsals,” Abbasi said in an interview with Iran Theater, adding that in 2011 when they started rehearsal with actress Ladan Mostofi, 44, a number of brilliant ideas came forward.

Mostofi plays the superstar in the drama again, while Abbasi performs the role of the young writer.

 When Abbasi was younger, he was passionate about cinema and acting, which formed a basis for the play. “Farhad, the writer in the story has part of my real character,” Abbasi said, and the story is based on his real experiences.

“All writers betray their real self at some point,” Farhad says as part of the dialogue echoing Abbasi’s sentiments. “I also added a few dramatic touches to his character.”

The play had an earlier run in Tehran in summer 2014. The first run featured playwright, theater director and actor Ayoub Aqakhani, 42, in Farhad’s role.

“But I always wanted to play the role myself. Since I wrote the drama eight years ago, I’ve been thinking of playing the part.”

Hafez Hall is located on Shahryar Blvd., Hafez St., south of Enqelab Ave. The 70-minute show starts daily at 7 pm.