Pouyan to Stage ‘Galileo’ in October at Iranshahr

Veteran theater director Ali Pouyan will stage ‘Galileo,’ the masterpiece of German playwright and theater director Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), in October at Tehran’s Iranshahr Theater.

The play is based on the real life of the 17th century astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) and has 14 scenes.

Pouyan, 63, told Honaronline that the late Iranian film and theater director Hamid Samandarian (1931-2012) wished to stage the masterpiece.

Dramaturge of the show is Iranian playwright, screenwriter and screenwriter Hassan Bastani, 55. “Due to his fluent pen and historical knowledge, he will do the job successfully,” Pouyan said.

The play follows Galileo in the later part of his life, and his struggle to prove Copernican theory of a heliocentric universe. “Knowledge-versus-ignorance is the essence of the work. It is what I frequently refer to in the performance and I’ll bring it out for today’s Iranian society.”

About his approach, he said it is intended to encourage rational thinking in the society. “I want people to be aware of the legendary scientist’s fate, and know that science pushes barriers.”

Brecht advocates rationality in his works and ‘Galileo’ is a unique play bringing together philosophy, science and art.

  Plot

Galileo builds his own telescope, the first of its kind in Italy, and through it, discovers a revolutionary astronomical breakthrough: Copernicus’ theory, that it is the Sun, not the Earth which is the center of the Universe.

Until then, it was just a theory, never proved and believed. When Galileo discovers the four moons of Jupiter, however, he knows he has found Copernicus’ long-sought proof.

But Galileo’s claims are pitted against the Catholic Church and the pope’s authority. They see the findings, and the man who claims them, as a threat to their religion and status.

Through Galileo’s struggles against the church, Brecht is able to show the audience a realistic portrait of the great scientist, torn between his scientific principles and his desire for a comfortable life that compliance with authority affords, according to a review by Stage Agent (stageagent.com).

Pouyan will soon announce the thespians for the play.