An Episodic Piece Based on Oriental Culture

Kiumars Moradi, the director of modern theater, is a graduate of dramatic art literature from Islamic Azad University and theater direction from Cinema & Theater Faculty of Art University. In addition to be an experienced director, Moradi has teaching teacher in his career in Islamic Azad University’s Art and Architecture Faculty, Hamid Samandarian Acting Institute as well as Amin Tarokh Free Acting Workshop. Somorgh, written by Mohammad Charmshir, The City Without Sky, written by Pouria Azarbaijani, House, written by Naghmeh Samini, The Eight Journey of Sindbad, written by Bahram Beizaei, Secrets & Lies, written by Naghmeh Samini, Dream in Empty Cup, written by Naghmeh Samini, Elektra and Romeo and Juliet by Sophocles, Death and Poet, written by Naghmeh Samini, Dream of Mid-Night Autumn, written by Naghmeh Samini and The Lesson, written by Eugene Ionesco are among his top pieces.

Moradi has so far received numerous domestic and international awards.

“Spell of The Burned Temple” was performed in 2000 and received the top director, playwright and actress awards for Mr Moradi, Ms Samini and Pantea Bahram, respectively from the International Fadjr Theater Festival.

The piece was performed in 2000 in the City Theater’s Charsou Auditorium and received positive reviews. Pantea Bahram, Hamidreza Azarang and Mehdi Pakdel are playing in the piece, which is on stage in Iranshahr Theater’s Samandarian Auditorium every night at 20:30 again.

This is an interview with Kiumars Moradi on the piece.

 

 

Is suitable acting one of the positive features of “Spell of The Burned Temple”?

The cast have a good understanding of the piece. Such kind of shows are like a ritual, which needs certain principles for walking, taking, watching and the tone of dialogue.

 

Is the piece similar to Kabuki Theater in Japan?

Yes, Kabuki Theater is rooted in puppet shows and the acting is close to Japan’s modern theater too. I can see similarities between the piece and Iranian Ta’zihe too and even Kathakali (classical Indian dance). The acting is similar to all the oriental pieces. A person who does Kathakali has to devote six hours to make up. The make-up of the cast takes at least one and half an hour every night…The team exerts lots of efforts for the performance…

If the cast do not understand this love and ritual, they would be unable to reflect it. All the three actors of the piece have been involved in dialogues and movement in a way that they are full of new ideas.

The audience face a half-dark atmosphere, bewitching music, smell of oriental incense, a secretive set immediately after entering the auditorium. How much you have relied on your two-decade-long experience to create such ambience?

I come from a generation who knows such ambience very well. I want the audience to enter this space and get out with a pleasant experience. Hamidreza Azarang has such experience with his past texts and performances. Mehdi Pakdel did such a performance with Farhad Mohamdespour’s “Monks’ Monastery” while he had no dialogue in that performance. Making an ambience is translated in involving the audience with the piece for us… The audience get involved with the concerns of the piece immediately after entering the auditorium. The smell of incense makes them ready for that world to understand that this place is different from his real life concerns. Aidin Olfat has designed the sound very well. It is a proposal to experience the audience and make them accompany us. The world of the piece is run by rituals like Ashura and Ta’zieh. When one watches Ta’zieh, he/she forgets his/her daily concerns and gets involved with the mourning ritual. By the way, the cast have key role in transferring such a feeling to the audience.

 

The world depicted in the piece is not real but a fairy tale and surreal story. Is that true?

I prefer not to name that world of the piece. Titles such as metaphysical or surreal and etc. We face story in “Spell of The Burned Temple”. If we interpret the story correctly, we would connect with its world…

 

 Has the narration of the piece similarities with Rashomon, a 1950 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa?

When Naghmeh Samini and I started writing the play 17 years ago, we both loved Rashomon’s structure, which was based on oriental stories. It has a narrative-based episodic structure, which is used by oriental playwrights. Its Iranian example is “Death of Yazdgerd”. Therefore, we decided to have episodic narration. I broke the structure in “Spell of The Burned Temple” and transferred death of characters to the end of the piece.