Majnoun

Article by Yasmin Sulaiman | 16 May 2006
Performed in both Farsi and English, 'Majnoun' must surely be one of the most original theatrical experiences of the year. Focusing on the effect of policies of forcible westernisation put in place in Iran in the 1920s, the play primarily uses an eclectic catalogue of music and sound together with a disjointed narrative technique in its portrayal of the country's fragmented society prior to the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Its disparate structure incorporates scenes of exquisite comic timing, including a hilarious reproduction of the climactic scene in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Dial M for Murder', and the seamlessness of its action is primarily due to the absorbing dynamics between the excellent three-member cast. Yet, writer Mehrdad Seyf is able to successfully merge this hilarity with moments of disturbing pathos, clearly exposing the tensions in Iran's political legacy and creating a poignant undertone that is heartbreakingly desolate. [Yasmin Sulaiman]
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 12-15 April. Currently touring the UK.