Henrik Ibsen’s “Ghosts” goes on stage at Tehran theater
Iran Theater-An Iranian troupe put on a reading performance of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s “Ghosts” at Tehran’s Mehregan Theater on Sunday evening.
The reading performance was staged by director Parastesh Purmirza based on a Persian translation of the play by Mehdi Forugh.
The reading was performed by a cast composed of Parastesh, Hamzeh Maddah, Zeinab Khatibi, Mehran Yari and Mohammad Moradi.
The troupe will repeat the performance for five other nights.
The play was written in 1881 and first staged in 1882 in Chicago, Illinois, in a production by a Danish company on tour.
“Ghosts” is the story of Helen Alving, a widow who is haunted by the many mistresses of her deceased husband and by her son who has inherited syphilis from his philandering father.
“Ghosts” is a scathing indictment of Victorian society in which Ibsen refutes the notion that if one simply fulfills one's duty rather than following one’s desires then a good and noble life will be achieved.
Scandalous in its day for its frank discussion of venereal disease and marriage infidelity, “Ghosts” remains to this day an intense psychological drama and sharp social criticism.