TEHRAN –Simorgh Hall of Bidel Dehlavi Foundation in Tehran will be playing host to performances of tazieh, Iranian passion play, during the first ten days of the lunar month of Muharram, which begins on Wednesday.

The Haj Saqqa Mosaffa Tazieh Group directed by Seyyedeh Mitra Hassani will perform stories from the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS) and his companions during the Ashura.

Tazieh represents 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, most of whom are amateurs who gain their living through other means but perform for spiritual rewards.

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

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.

ABU/