The Persian Revolution

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JOYCE MCMILLAN on THE PERSIAN REVOLUTION (30 Bird at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh) for The Scotsman 24.11.07
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2 stars **

IT WOULD BE A good to be able to give a wholehearted welcome to this latest show from London-based Iranian group 30 Bird, playing briefly at the Traverse this week.  Nothing matters more, in current global politics, than the attempt to deepen western understanding of Iran.  And this brief centenary history of the Persian Revolution of 1906-1909 – a brave if failed attempt to set up the Middle East’s first true parliamentary democracy – recalls a critical moment in the nation’s story, as retold by a bright young company of five, all dressed cabaret-style in flashy lounge suits.

The difficulty lies, though, in finding an effective dramatic style for the presentation of Mehrdad Seyf’s densely-scripted history lesson.  30 Bird’s design and lighting team deliver some attractive stage pictures around an abstract set.  But the cabaret approach means that character is reduced to caricature, with the odd shift into student-revue parody; and there’s no compensating sharpness of political analysis to give shape and drama to the narrative.

This is a pity, since the key tensions contained in the story – above all between devout Islamism and secular models of democracy -  remain burning issues today, in the fraught relationship between Iran and the west.  As it is, though, this show looks like a vitally important story in search of a theatrical form that would do it full justice; and distracted by an out-of-date western Fringe-theatre style that cannot possibly provide the answers.

ENDS ENDS ENDS

~ by joycemcmillan on November 24, 2007.