TEHRAN-The play “Terminal 3” written by Swedish playwright, novelist and poet Lars Norén and directed by Saman Rafiei is currently on stage at Mehregan Theater in Tehran.

Mojdeh Foroughi, Mohammad-Javad Hashamipour, Mehdi Golzar, Hoda Qanavati, and Hamid Bahoush perform in the play, which will run through December 5.

“Terminal 3” takes place in the outpatient clinic of a hospital: A young couple is waiting for a doctor, the woman is nearing the term of her pregnancy, the delivery is due any moment now. While the man is looking forward to the baby, the woman has her doubts, of herself, her present life, their relationship.

Nearby sits an elderly couple, they have to identify a body, most likely their 20-year-old son. Although the couples don't talk to each other, there is something strangely familiar in their presence, as if they had known each other for a long time already. 

Neither couple are sure that they are in the right place but for the older couple the waiting room feels oddly familiar.

As they wait, their anxiety grows and tempers fray. The older couple, we learn, are separated, while the younger couple appear to be on the verge of splitting up, just as their son is born.

With shades of Beckett and Pinter, Norén uses language to disorientate his audience. The characters leave sentences hanging, repeat phrases and fall into silence – what is unspoken is as important as what is said. As the couples watch each other suspiciously, their dialogues begin to overlap and echo each other.

“Terminal 3” is a slow burn of a play, deliberately unsettling and unexpectedly tender. Norén’s haunting drama explores ordinary lives and the “dark places” within us all.

Lars Norén (1944–2021) was regarded as one of Sweden’s finest dramatists. His plays are realistic and often revolve around family and personal relations, either among people who are impoverished and rooted at the bottom of society, or people who live in material comfort but emotional insecurity.
SS/