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Volume CXXXII, Number 10 |
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Eyes of Persia brings myths into view
GYLLIAN CHISTIANSEN
STAFF WRITER
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| Selena McMahan '05 appears on stage in Eyes of Persia, a play based on creation myths, written and directed by Bobak Bakhtiari '03. (Karsten Moran, Bowdoin Orient) |
Bobak Bakhtiari '03 knows something about gods and monsters. Both feature prominently in the characters and myths explored in his production Eyes of Persia, which premieres at Bowdoin's Wish Theater this weekend. But the presence of these Gods and Monsters reached beyond the confines of Eyes' storyline, making themselves felt as a force in the production's creation.
If you ask Bakhtiari's dedicated tech crew, of all the monsters Bakhtiari conjures up in Eyes, none is more pervasive than the production itself. They watched with a combination of dismay and awe as the senior fused music, dance, narrative, and almost two dozen Bowdoin students into a 90-minute mythical odyssey.
Along the way, Bakhtiari wove in themes of Zoroastrian creation myths, paganism, and contemporary Islamic culture. Things did not always run smoothly. But as Bakhtiari said, "You try to say something about the gods…" And yes, sometimes, you are going to incur their wrath-though mostly in the form of minor injuries to his sprawling cast.
You might also feel the gods smile on you, and reward you with inspiration. It was only two months ago, well into Bakhtiari's development of the play, that he started noticing relevant New York Times articles dealing with the role of Islam in contemporary Iran. Bakhtiari included these brief glimpses of contemporary Iranian life at its most extreme, weaving them seamlessly into the flow of his original narrative.
Bakhtiari explains that the play was changing and developing all the way up to Thursday's dress rehearsal. "It wasn't quite a work-shopped play, but it was so heavily dependent on the actor's abilities and intensities, that it had to grow to fit the particular individuals I had in each role." The students became a part of Bakhtiari's vision, bringing everything from his movement, to the costumes and lighting-setups, to life.
The performance opens with a young girl playing in a courtyard in Iran. She hums softly, rolling marbles, lulling you with the quiet serenity of the setting, when, BAM! All of a sudden she runs away and is replaced by a nine-foot-tall creature draped in red battling a leotard clad gymnastic whirlwind, as white figures flutter about playfully.
Bakhtiari's play demonstrates the immediacy of myth and ritual in our life as the gorgeously costumed displays of pagan revelry and warring fantastical beasts melt into the scenes of a father retelling these stories to his daughter. His infectious enthusiasm fills these frightening beasts with a spirit of wonder and beauty, even as they elicit gasps from the audience.
But even with their soundtrack of tormented screams and ear warping wails, the monsters are by no means the most frightening part of Bakhtiari's works. It turns out the villainy they inspire is no match for the tyranny of humans, and Bakhtiari holds up frightening evidence of this, both couched in surreal myth, and starkly drawn from the pages of present-day journalism.
Bakhtiari was born in Iran, and returned there briefly before beginning work on his play last February. He was inspired by the need to express "something raw and really organic that was sort of seeping through" him. The stories that form the backbone of Eyes are not obscure texts, but a living part of Iranian culture. Bakhtiari explained their significance and prevalence in Iranian culture as being similar to "what beer means to Americans." However disgruntled some Americans might be by this frightening characterization of their values, the gods are most pleased with Bakhtiari's Eyes of Persia, the monster of a play he made beautiful.
Eyes of Persia opens Friday Night at 7:00 p.m. in Wish Theater. Some tickets are still available at the door.
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