Iranian play ponders life in refugee Camp
The room is dark except for the stage where a table covered in dark cloth and shiny trinkets sits, bookended by two chairs.
A man sits at one end of the table, headphones dangling from his ears — a red Converse shoe on one foot, a black one on the other.
A pregnant woman, also wearing headphones, walks over. She hands him a napkin and begins dishing up his plate. One red shoe and one black peek out from under her long tunic.
The scene seems almost normal, until it’s clear the couple is in a refugee camp, not the comfort of their home.
“These days in (the) Middle East we have (a lot of ) people who wish to move from Middle East countries to European or Canadian countries,” said Mehdi Mashhour. “Some people need a better life because in our country we have many problems.”
For the first time, Mashhour and two other members of the Tehranbased Saye Theatre Group travelled from Iran to take part in the Regina International Fringe Theatre Festival. Their play addresses some of those problems.
Mashhour, director of The Silent House, said the show is a one-hour drama that focuses on the challenges faced by a couple — played by Shiva Makinian and Benyamin Esbati — living in a refugee camp.
As an international theatre company, the show is designed to travel from country to country. For this reason, there is very little dialogue. Instead, the actors rely on body language and physicality to bring their story to life.
“I think the art is an international language,” said Esbati. “We can play without talking and the audience understands everything.”
Esbati writes and directs short films in Iran, but said he’s dipped his toe into the acting pool over the past year. “Our performance is like a mirror. A mirror just (to) show the situation of the people that live in the Middle East,” he said.
Plagued by war, lack of employment, political turmoil and other challenges, Esbati said many people in the Middle East want to leave.
The trio wouldn’t give much away when asked what audience members can expect. They hope Regina theatre lovers will come and find out for themselves.
Makinian said her favourite scene is one in which her brothers disapprove of her love for her partner. She said she likes the scene because it demonstrates the struggle for autonomy some women in the Middle East experience.
She hopes that people who see the show come away with a feeling of love for one another.
Saye Theatre Group was founded in 2001 and has two more members who did not travel to Saskatchewan. Before the group came to Regina, they performed the show in Germany and England. They travel to France next.
Mashhour said they are enjoying the calmness of Regina, very different from Tehran, which has a population in the millions.
Showtimes are Friday at 8:30 p.m., Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Anglican Church on 15th Avenue in the Cathedral area. Tickets are $12.