TEHRAN- The all-female troupe Sacred Art plans to stage a play on the events of Ashura at the Andisheh Hall of the Art Bureau in Tehran on August 2.

Maryam Shabani is the director and writer of the play titled “Rahoma”, which will be performed exclusively for an audience of women.

The play will reenact an unheard story from the tragic events of Karbala. It tells the story of three women from different religions who come together in a desert near Karbala and become entwined with the Ashura uprising.

Featuring over 40 female artists, "Rahoma" will blend artistic performance and choir.

Reyhane Afkham Rezai, Saba Rezai, Atieh Bahri, Zahra Farahani, Mahdieh Khademi, and Mansoureh Jalalian are the main members of the cast for the play that will remain on stage until August 16.

The choir of the play will be led by Shima Tajik.
 
Last year, the Sacred Art troupe staged a play on tazieh, Iranian passion play, in Tehran on the occasion of the lunar month of Muharram.

The play narrated a historical story from the Qajar era and depicts how the tradition of performing tazieh by women originated in the court of Naser al-Din Shah.

The Iranian passion play tazieh was registered on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in November 2010.

Tazieh represents religious events, historical and mythical stories and folk tales. Each performance has the four components of poetry, music, song and motion.

However, stories about the uprising of Imam Hussein (AS) and his companions against the oppressive Umayyad dynasty in 680 CE are more highly regarded by tazieh troupes and audiences.

Performers are always male, and female roles are played by men, most of whom are amateurs who gain their living through other means but perform for spiritual rewards.

It is a kind of drama that depicts the event of Ashura and is performed in Mahur, Chargah, and Shur Baghdad radifs of Iranian music.

It is based on the Ashura culture and the brave war and martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS). It is a religious play dated back to 9th-century dynamites and Buyids. However, Tazieh performance began during the Safavid era (1501-1736) and flourished during the Qajar era.

The Ashura event is one of the most dramatic historical occurrences. It marks the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Imam and the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), along with his 72 loyal companions.

SAB/