A Maze With No Egress

A surrealistic play written by Spanish playwright screenwriter, film director, novelist and poet Fernando Arrabal is on stage at Mashayekhi Theater House in Tehran. “The Labyrinth,” the play was first published in the collection “Guernica and Other Plays” in 1967. It has been translated into Persian by Shirin Hosseinzadeh. Arrabal, 86, lived under the oppression of the brutal Franco regime. Although The Labyrinth does not speak directly of politics but the tyranny of Franco’s rule is conspicuous in the dialogue. According to the website of Geisel Library in San Diego, the play depicts Etienne, a man chained to a latrine in the middle of a maze of blankets and nightmarish debris, who struggles to free himself from the manacle that binds him to his fellow prisoner, Bruno.  Thirsty and very near death, Bruno’s pleas for help are ignored by Etienne as he breaks free of his chains and runs into the labyrinth. But his sense of freedom is short lived as he finds that no matter which direction he takes, he always ends up back at the latrine. Micaela, a mysterious young woman, explains to Etienne that escape is impossible, and that those who have tried are assumed to have perished from starvation or dehydration. The play is directed by Shahin Chegini and the cast includes Pouria Afrasiab, Pedram Mahmoudi, Mohammad Mohammadzadeh and Shakila Ali-Panahi, Tiwall.com wrote. Mashayekhi Theater House, located at No. 1478, northwestern side of Valiasr Crossroad, will host the show through September 11.