Writing in the Dark

Playwright and Director: Mohammad Yaghoubi

Overview

“We are playwrights. Few in number, but we exist, working in small rooms behind desks that seem even smaller. These rooms may be cramped, but they open to the streets, where we witness the world around us. Our struggle is not just a mental state – it’s a political condition. To escape this, we seek hope born out of our circumstances. For us, activism is not just resistance; it’s an honest record of the events, a testament to our era for the future.”
This statement was written by eight playwrights protesting censorship and oppression following the 2009 elections in Iran.
‘Writing in the Dark’ captures Mohammad Yaghoubi's deep commitment to the themes of censorship and personal trauma. The play follows Nima, a photographer and journalist who is arrested for documenting the 2009 protests. After his release, burdened by his experiences, Nima takes his own life.
Yaghoubi's use of projection in the play goes beyond a mere visual tool – it is a narrator in its own right, helping to bridge the gap between theater and literature. Through typography and imagery, projections carry elements of the story that cannot be shown on stage, such as the sensitive scenes of interrogations, which were censored. These projections invite the audience to engage in a deeper, more participatory way, making them active collaborators in the performance's storytelling.

My Insights

Due to censorship, we, as actors, were unable to directly portray sensitive scenes, such as torture, on stage. Instead, we employed Brechtian techniques and projections to narrate these moments. This shift from realism to narrative storytelling not only impacted the audience on an emotional level but also prompted them to question the reality of censorship within our performance. It forced them to reflect critically on the hidden truths and the implications of what was being concealed from view.
This experience highlighted how the aesthetic form of art can politicize it more profoundly than its subject matter, inspiring me to explore the workshop titled ‘Performative Inquiry’.

Venues & Dates

Cast

Impact

Production