Dramatically silent

Iranian play portrays wide range of human emotions

Dance, rhythm, movement and drama. A feast for theatregoers awaits in Vol, a silent play being staged at the Iranian Club. The play, which is being staged for the second time in Dubai due to popular demand, will be performed for 12 consecutive days.

Vol, which means Mountain Pine in Persian, is a tree that grows in the mountains of Iran. Once the tree reaches full growth, it loses its leaves, upon which it catches fire due to the abrasion and friction of the dry and brittle branches.

This tree symbolises the theme of the play which revolves around the thirst for, achievement and wrongful use of ultimate power, the struggle against it and finally the downfall of that power.

In an age when theatre has to compete with television and cinema, silent plays or mimes which were once the only form of entertainment have taken a backseat.

However, silent plays, which have been an integral part of Iranian theatre and culture for centuries, have not lost their appeal and still remain a popular form of entertainment for the Iranian audience.

Written and directed by the Dubai-based Iranian playwright cum director, Seyyed Ashroff Tabai Tabai, the play portrays a wide and powerful range of human emotions from hypocrisy to grief.

Tabai Tabai, who is also the director of the sports department of the Iranian Club, has written and produced a large number of plays over the years, many of which have won Iranian national awards.

"This is a very popular play and has been staged numerous times in Iran," says Ahmed Olyaei, head of the cultural and education department of the Iranian Club. "We are also planning to stage it at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Centre and then move on to France from there."

The star-studded cast, which includes Iman Afsharian, Hassan Zarei, Ali Maksoudi and Nazanin Kessvars, four of the most famous Iranian stage actors and actresses, together with a cast of 30 people, will bring this mime alive with elegant balance of movement, music, dance and of course, no conversation.

"When the play was performed a year ago in Dubai there was a very good response to it, and people have been asking for it to be performed here again.

That is why we are planning to stage it once more, and we hope it will be as successful again," adds Olayaie. The play will be staged every night until February 13 from 8.00pm to 10.30pm.