TEHRAN -- Italian theater director Eugenio Barba, who was in Tehran to perform and hold workshops, has expressed his admiration of tazieh, the Iranian passion play.

Eugenio Barba, the founder of the Odin Theater, and his troupe members sat to watch tazieh of Horr ibn Yazid Riahi, the commander of Ubaydullah ibn Ziad, who joined the companions of Imam Hussein the night before Ashura, the day upon which Imam Hussein (AS) and his companions were martyred.

The play by director Alaeddin Qasemi was performed in Tehran’s City Theater Complex on Wednesday. 

The Italian director said that he was highly impressed by the Iranian passion play and that he still wanted to watch the performance, after the play was over.

Barba said that the power of the performances was clearly evident in the play and that the actors were totally committed to their work.

He added that he and his team had good memories of their stay in Iran, the best of which was to meet Iranian theatrical figures, adding that watching tazieh was a good experience. 

Eugenio Barba and the major members of the Odin Theater held several workshops in Tehran last week.

Tazieh recounts religious events, historical and mythical stories, and folk tales. Each performance has the four components of poetry, music, song and motion. Performers are always male, and female roles are played by men. 

Tazieh was registered on UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in November 2010.

RM/YAW