An adaptation of Russian author Dostoyevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’ by Iman Afsharian, theatre director, is on stage at Tehran’s Masoudiyeh Café.
The original story is on the mental anguish and moral dilemma of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished former student in St. Petersburg who executes a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker for her cash, Honaronline reports.
“I was absorbed by the story and finally decided to adapt Dostoyevsky’s version,” said Afsharian.
In the novel, Dostoyevsky points to the dangers of both utilitarianism and rationalism, ideas which inspired radicalism. Dostoyevsky utilized the characters, dialogue and narrative in ‘Crime and Punishment’ to articulate an argument against western ideas in general. The book is considered the first great novel of his “mature” period of writing.
It is the first time that a play based on the novel has been staged in Iran with “a unique musical style of performance,” Afsharian said.
Dialogues are arranged as lyrics and the cast went through rigorous rehearsal sessions since they had to memorize several Russian melodies for the show. The 14 characters act in an “atmosphere of illusion.”
Majid Aqa-Karimi, Mehdi Pakdel, Mohammad Pouya, Zahra Saeidi, Soudeh Sharhi, Elham Shakib, Parandeh Alaei and Ata Omrani are among the cast.
The play will run through November 3 at the cafe located in Baharestan neighborhood.
