TEHRAN – Iranian director Alireza Kushk-Jalali will restage “Robinson & Crusoe” starting tomorrow at the Shahrzad Theater Complex in Tehran.

Written by Giacomo Ravicchio and Nino D’Introna in 1985, the story of the play is set on a roof surrounded by the ocean. 

Two men meet there after a disaster; one speaks several European languages, the other some strange kind of gibberish of Oriental origin.

The ocean is the only witness to their struggles to find a common language so they can initially meet their need for survival, and later on enjoy their “bounty,” dream of their past, and decide about their future and a new life.

Saeid Borjali and Hossein Jeddi will play the two men in the performance, which will go on stage every night for a month.    

The play was originally performed and directed by Ravicchio and D’Introna and produced by the Teatro dell’Angolo of Torino in Italy.

It has been performed in 20 different countries on five continents by more than 100 theater companies.

Kushk-Jalali has previously staged “Robinson and Crusoe” several times in Tehran, Rasht, Mashhad, Ahvaz and Tabriz.

The latest time was in November and December 2018 when his troupe Ayna performed at the Shahrzad Theater Complex.

Kushk-Jalali’s play “Barefoot, Naked, Heart in His Hand” has won public acclaim in its performances worldwide.

The dark comedy on racial violence narrates the story of a Turkish Muslim migrant living in Germany who loses his family and house in a fire rooted in a racist attack.

Written in the German language in 1993, the play has previously been performed over 650 times in different countries, including Iran, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Ukraine and Russia.

Michael Morgenstern was the sole actor in the monolog, the latest performance of which was in Cologne, Germany, in 2020. Only 20 people were allowed to attend each performance based on restrictions during the Covid pandemic.

Photo: A poster for “Robinson & Crusoe”, which will be performed at the Shahrzad Theater Complex in Tehran.
 
MMS/YAW