A Moment of Silence

Premiered in 2001 by Mohammad Yaghoubi, A Moment of Silence was quickly banned, but a decade later, Aida Keykhaei revived the play with a new cast.

The story follows a writer who, under the threat of government-led executions targeting Iranian intellectuals, is simultaneously working on a play about Shiva—a woman with a rare condition who wakes years later each time she falls asleep. The lives of the writer, his spouse, and Shiva’s journey intertwine across key moments in Iranian history, creating a layered narrative. At the dramatic climax, an announcement over loudspeakers declares the writer dead, leaving the story unfinished.

Through a minimal stage and stylized acting, Keykhaei reconnects the audience with contemporary perspectives on Iran’s history. The mise-en-scène, spatial design, and performers’ presence do not merely represent history; they point to Iran’s present, creating a space where the audience experiences the characters’ emotions and faces collective memory, leaving a lasting impression.

Collaborating with the Nowadays Theatre as an assistant director has been a transformative experience that reshaped my artistic perspective. Their deep engagement with social issues, their narrative experiments drawing inspiration from literature and cinema, and their unwavering commitment to sensitive social and political topics have collectively guided me toward a theatre practice rooted in storytelling.

Works such as Whose Life Is It Anyway? stand as reflections of this journey, bearing the imprint of the group’s distinctive methods and ethos while highlighting how collaboration can nurture both artistic growth and social awareness.

• Premiere: 13th Iran International University Theatre Festival (IIUTF) – May 2010
• Molavi Theatre, Small Hall, Tehran, Iran – May and June 2010

• Navid Mohammadzadeh
• Faranak Kalantar
• Masoumeh Rahmani
• Mojgan Khaleghi
• Javad Molania
• Sara Poursabri

Duration
120 Minutes

• Performances: 20
• Audience: ~2,000

• Producer: Nowadays Theatre