Neil Simon's play is a virtue comedy

The play "The odd Couple" written by Neil Simon and directed by Mohammad- Hossein Peyvandi, which was staged in Qashqai Hall of Tehran’s City Theater in June, deals with the family and marital problems of two friends in the 1970s and 1980s in America.

Iran Theater had a conversation with three of the actors of this show about the experience of acting in a show by Neil Simon.

Farshid Qolipour: "Neil Simon" is an ethical writer

Farshid Qolipour, who played the role of "Felix" in the play "Awkward Couple", said: "The play "Awkward Couple" is a classic comedy that was performed for the first time in Iran, and Mr. Shahram Zargar, as a translator, gave the text to the group. »

He said about the features of this show and its theme: "I think this show is a very difficult play in terms of the type of social relationships of the characters and the type of actions that happen between them."

The actor added: "I really liked this family social form of the show. Basically, Neil Simon is a moral person and his kind of comedy is like a scalpel; A scalpel that cuts through social barriers and tries to be as influential as his own contribution as an artist.

                                                                                  

 

 

Mina Zarnani: I like emotional roles very much!

Mina Zarnani, who played the role of one of the two neighbor sisters named "sisily" in "The Odd Couple", said about her experience: "We were familiar with Neil Simon’s play, based on the movie made from it.But the play  had not been staged in Iran. "Because it was interesting for me to act in a different and real comedy work, I joined the cast."

She explained about her perception of the role and how to perform it: "This role was difficult and challenging for me, because we had a short time to realize the role. It was a character that was both a typecast and a character, that is, at the same time we had to do a typecasting and to show the character as well, because only typecast doesn’t work for the role. It was very difficult to coordinate these two things, but I hope I did the role well. Sicily has a special excitement for me. I generally like thrillers a lot. It was a little close to my personality. That mischievousness, girlishness and cheerfulness attracted me.

Homayoun Heydarzadeh: The actor must challenge himself!

Homayoun Heydarzadeh, who played the role of "Winnie", one of Oscar's friends, in this show, said about reaching this role based on his personal experiences and the director's guidance: "I think that every show requires an actor move to the situation based on the atmosphere. My role in "The odd Couple" was a  little typecast, but I think this role is typecast and a  development character, the definitions are a little merged. In my opinion, the most difficult type of acting is this type of character.

The actor continued: When I read the play, I saw that it is centered on the two characters Oscar and Felix and their relationship and marital problems. I thought I was a part of this puzzle, even a small one! The little hints in Winnie's dialogue made me think that I was the opposite of the two friends. Maybe I added some things myself and made them bolder.