TEHRAN – A Tehran theater is showcasing a play that illustrates how deceit and hypocrisy plagued Iran during the Qajar period.

“Sad Widows of the Warlord” written by Mohammad-Amir Yarahmadi is about a Qajar military commander, namely Mohammad-Taqi Khan, who is reaching the age of 90. He has three wives and a Russian bear. 

He has married three times to have a baby. However, his attempts are all in vain and finally, he dies. His aide hatches a plot to possess all properties of the commander by telling the widows a story about a male heir to the commander’s vast estate born of a secret marriage. 

The commander is buried in the basement in secret and the aide convinces the widows to conceal the fact that the commander is dead. However, a deceitful son-in-law of one of the widows from her former marriage emerges to make changes in the story.

In the story, the widows represent three different generations and the Russian bear symbolizes a foreign power controlling the situations behind the scenes. 

Mohammad Alidadi is directing the play at Ahura Theater. It was also staged by Shahabeddin Hosseinpur in Tehran six years ago.

“We should clean our minds of old fanatic thoughts,” Alidadi told the Persian service of Honaronline and added, “I had no feministic attitude to this play; it talks about the human relationship; a ruler lives in a luxurious mansion with three wives from three generations that fight for his inheritance.”
   
“The message of ‘Sad Widows of the Warlord’ is not conveyed to the audience directly, but it makes the audiences think about having their own approach to the story,” he noted.

He described the story of the play as “really tangible” and said, “The play would appeal to audiences even if it were to be staged a century later,” he stated.

Alidadi plans to stage “Sad Widows of the Warlord” at the 41st Fajr International Theater Festival, which will take place in Tehran in January 2023.

The play is being performed by a cast comprising Mahdieh Qarabaghi, Parand Kanturi, Negar Soltani, Maryam Masumi, Ali Dowlati, Abolfazl Yusefi, Ahmad Zare’, Hesam Qahvechi, Amir-Hossein Rostami and Ario Amiri.

Alidadi’s next project is Yasmina Reza’s “Art”, which will go on stage at Tehran’s Hafez Theater next month.  

Photo: Director Mohammad Alidadi’s troupe performs “Sad Widows of the Warlord” at Tehran’s Ahura Theater.

MMS/YAW