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About Iranian Drama

By: Ghanoonparvar

IRANIAN DRAMA, in formal Western terms a relatively new art form in Persia, though various types of dramatic performance, including religious plays and humorous satirical skits, have long been a part of Persian religious and folk tradition. Ta'ziya is a form of Persian religious drama that developed in the 16th century and commemorates the suffering of Shi'ite martyrs; it is usually presented in verse and is the only traditional form of Persian drama in which written texts are used. Traditional comic entertainments are usually presented on special occasions like weddings; they include baqqaal-baazi, ruhawzi or takht hawzi (usually performed over a courtyard pool covered with boards to make a stage), siaah-baazi (in which the central comedian appears in blackface), khiaal-bazi (shadow play), khayma-shab-baazi (marionette show), and 'aruasak-baazi or 'aruasak-e posht-e parda (puppet show). Most of these plays have stock characters and involve domestic quarrels, lovers' conflicts, and relations between rich and poor. Traditionally they were not written down. Professional performers followed standard plots, improvising the dialogue from performance to performance. These performances were often used as vehicles for social criticism, particularly of high officials, the rich, and clerics.Despite government censorship, religious restrictions, and public infatuation with newer forms of entertainment both traditional religious drama and comedies have continued to evolve to the present day, and modern Persian dramatists have drawn on them for their own works.