War of an Iranian Director with German Goethe

Iran Theatre-Naeemi who has directed the play in an elaborated form in company of music, and dance said that he has experienced a serious challenge with Goethe.

Naeemi who is director and an experienced playwright has had a free and contemporary adaptation of Faust and maybe it can be said that there is great difference between the original one and this one. He said that Faust was one of the first books he read and emphasized while Shakespeare was his favorite playwright but this single work of Goethe has been very attractive for him as much as all of Shakespeare's works. He said: “In the Goethe’s work, thought, storytelling, and characterization and everything related to drama is so charming. But from the very early, the challenge of Faust with himself, with his surrounding world and people,…attracted me. I’ve never attracted by Mephistopheles. At first look, I felt I don’t like Mephistopheles anymore; a one-dimension Mephistopheles who is dark.”

He emphasized: “I didn’t see the play as the fight of Faust and evil or even God and evil but I saw it as the fight of Faust with himself. So, I always liked to have a fight with Goethe and his Faust and write a play to show my struggle with this work. I believe that today a man be able to commit such works that even evil cannot imagine it.”

Naeemi that changed the destiny of Faust completely talked about these changes: “I didn’t change the main theme of the play, but I manipulated the story. Something are belonged to Romanticism in Goethe’s work and its not related to many other isms that have came during these years fast and have reached us to 21^st century.”

“In this century I cannot be as optimistic that deliver my character. In Goethe’s work I see the way that Faust goes after Margret’s death that he even doesn’t ask why she died. He doesn’t even mourn for her. It was my question. My tragedy is Margret’s tragedy not Faust’s. In my work Faust asks why she has been killed and then he doesn’t accept Mephistopheles offer to travel in the heart of history and have fun in parties. The difference between my Faust and Goethe’s one back to the logic, thought and the sketch I have in today society. I think presence of Faust is essential for society. My Faust decides to sacrifice himself for feeling duty and trying for freedom of human beings, so I think he became martyr opposite of Goethe’s Faust that he is not martyr.” He said.