TEHRAN -- The Iranian play “Hey Macbeth, Only the First Dog Knows Why It Is Barking” will go on stage at Moscow Nights, Russia’s 4th edition of the international theater festival, which will open tomorrow.
Led by director Ebrahim Poshtkuhi, the Teetovak Theater Group will perform the play on the opening day of the festival, which will run until November 30.
The play is a blend of the Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and Zar, a local Iranian rite. The Zar rite, commonplace in southern Iran, has been mixed with the Shakespearean classic Macbeth to form a unique musical comedy.
Zar is a legacy from slavery as it was performed by African slaves who were brought to southern Iran. They performed it on weekends in order to gain energy to enable them to bear the burden of bondage for the rest of the week. Over time, ordinary people also joined in their musical rite comprising ecstatic dance with dammam (tom-tom) playing.
Today, Zar is mostly performed by workers in a group named ahl-e hava, which is conducted by a leader called a babazari.
In “Hey Macbeth, Only the First Dog Knows Why It Is Barking”, Macbeth commits a crime to join an ahl-e hava to become a babazari.
A fusion of African, Indian and southern Iranian music has been composed by Reza Abbaspur for the play.
“Hey Macbeth” won the award of the New Experience Section at the 28th Tehran International Theater Festival in January 2009.
In addition, it was warmly received by theatergoers during its premiere at the City Theater in Tehran in August 2010.
SB/YAW
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