Director, screenwriter, playwright, translator and actor Dariush Moaddabian will stage two bilingual plays by Belgian humor writer André Praga.
Moaddabian, 67, and a group of students of French language and literature will perform two plays by Praga in original French and later in Persian from July 17-29 at Tehran’s Entezami House Museum, Honaronline reported.
Dedicated to Iranian theater, Entezami House Museum will host the ‘Story of a Shirt and a Violin’ (in French: ‘Histoire d’une Chemise et d’un Violon’) and ‘Waiting Room’ (Salle D’Attente).
“Praga is a celebrated French-speaking Belgian humor writer. In the 1970s and 80s, his humorous works in France and other European TV programs made him famous. After the 1980s, his Belgian countrymen started to know him better,” Moaddabian said. “He is also an acclaimed surgeon with a foundation named after him.”
Both plays are short and humorous, Moaddabian said. Alternately, they will go on stage, each time for about 70 minutes. “The plays will be performed first in French and then in Persian. Thespians are a number of French language and literature students who are experienced in acting.
“We’ve been working together for a while. Recently we decided to form a French-speaking theater group.”
Short and Humorous
‘Story of a Shirt and a Violin’ follows a comic fate of a violin. To participate at an important concert, a young musician goes to a loan shop, borrows a shirt and a collar, and submits his violin as collateral.
After the musician leaves, another customer arrives to fetch a tie, when the violin catches his attention. Upon examination, the violin turns out to be a Stradivarius, one of the legendary violins built by the Italian family Stradivari during the 17th and 18th centuries, whose sound qualities defy attempts to explain or equal them. For the violin, the customer offers shopkeeper 500,000 francs.
The other play, ‘Waiting Room’ is the story of four women meeting at the waiting room of a physician.
For both plays, Moaddabian will use a number of French songs composed by Belgian singer, songwriter, actor and director Jacques Brel (1929-1978). Brel composed and performed literate, thoughtful and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following, initially in Belgium and France, later throughout the world.
The plays are spoken in a plain language, far from complexity. “The audiences who don’t understand French will watch the first part, but will find out what exactly is going on in the second part in Persian. But those who know French will observe how a dramatic action is translated from one Language into another,” the director says.
‘Story of a Shirt and a Violin’ is slated for July 17, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28, starting at 8:30 pm. ‘Waiting Room’ will be staged on July 18, 21, 23, 25, 27 and 29 at the same timing.
Moaddabian will be playing in both plays. Other thespians are Hamid Reza Agahi, Ali Reza Akhavan, Saeed Parsa, Ali Dashti, Milad Salehvand, Aryan Safai, Mehrnaz Abbasi, Saeed Askari, Mahyar Mojoudi and Ashkan Mirzashafi in ‘Story of a Shirt and a Violin’.
Those who will perform in ‘Waiting Room’ include Hamid Reza Agahi, Hasti Razzazchian, Mehrnaz Abbasi, Sepideh Gholami, Saeed Askari, Ashkan Mirzashafi and Negar Niknami.
Entezami House Museum is located at No. 28, Ahmadi Alley, Kaveh Blvd., Andarzgou Blvd., Qeytarieh neighborhood. Tickets are available at tiwall.com.
