TEHRAN-An adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “The Gentle Spirit” is on stage at Book Garden Theater in Tehran.

Titled “Tonight – Borscht & Blood,” the play is directed by the well-known Iranian actor, director, and writer Saber Abar and written by Mehdi Yazdani-Khorram, based on Dostoyevsky’s short story, ISNA reported.

Abar and Fatemeh Naghavi are the only actors in the 60-minute play, which has two performances every night at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Also known as “A Gentle Creature” and “The Meek One,” the story is a compelling study of despair, based on a real-life incident. A pawnbroker mourns the loss of his wife, a quiet, gentle young girl. Why has she killed herself? Could he have prevented it? These are the questions the pawnbroker asks himself as he pieces together past events and minor incidents, changes of mood, and passing glances, in his search for an answer that will relieve his torment.

Originally written in 1876, it is a first-person stream of consciousness narrative. It chronicles the relationship between a pawnbroker and a girl who frequents his shop. The story was inspired by a news report that Dostoyevsky read in the paper about the suicide of a seamstress. Dostoyevsky referred to it as a “meek suicide” that “keeps haunting you for a long time”.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. Numerous literary critics regard him as one of the greatest novelists in all of world literature, as many of his works are considered highly influential masterpieces.

Dostoevsky's literary works explore the human condition in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia, and engage with a variety of philosophical and religious themes.

“Tonight – Borscht & Blood” will remain on stage until August 6 at Book Garden Theater.

SS/SAB