TEHRAN- Iranshahr Theater Complex in Tehran will host the play “Pockets Full of Bread” written by Matei Visniec from July 2 to August 14.

Originally written in 1984, the play is a realistic drama, a satire about human nature, talking about people…sometimes cynical, sometimes shallow, witty and ridiculous, generous and coward at the same time

Directed by Alireza Goudarzi, the play has Sara Bahrami, Farzin Mohaddes, and Ali Heydari in the cast, Honaronline reported.

The 65-minute performance follows Man with Hat and Man with Stick as they try to decide what to do about the situation they have happened upon: a dog stuck at the bottom of a well. The two men rage at the cruelty of humankind, bicker about the best method to go down into the well, and contemplate whether or not the dog actually wants to be saved; but they end up doing nothing other than throwing down some bits of bread.

The inevitable comparison is with Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot,” which features a similarly surreal discussion between the two characters (Man with Stick and Man with Hat spend several minutes discussing whether or not blind dogs actually exist).

The play creates a sad and ludicrous universe, its two characters resemble Vladimir and Estragon from Beckett's “Waiting for Godot,” experiencing an absurd revelation, engaged in a game of power and free will. Conversing about absurd life events, “Pockets Full of Breads” has some very crunchy lines penned by Visniec.

Matei Vișniec, 68, is a Romanian-French playwright, poet, and journalist living in Paris. He graduated in 1980 from the History and Philosophy Faculty of the University of Bucharest. Between 1977 and 1987 he wrote 8 plays in two or three acts, about twenty short plays, and some screenplays, but all were turned down by the censors. In 1987 he was invited to France by a literary foundation.

After settling down in France, he has been writing mostly in French and has received French citizenship. After the fall of communism in Romania, in 1989, Matei Vișniec became one of the most performed playwrights in the country, with more than 30 plays put on in Bucharest and other towns.

Iranshahr Theater Complex is located in Artists Park on North Mousavi Street, Taleqani Street.

SS/SAB