Iranian diasporic Theatre in Toronto
Written by Marjan Moosavi
The Ceremony of Killing Suhrāb [Majlis-i Suhrāb Kushī] (1989), Toronto. Created and performed by Sāsān Ghahrimān. Photos by Sa’id Kārdar.
The Ceremony of Killing Suhrāb is the most performed Persian dramatic piece of the last four decades. It was staged in Toronto on several occasions between 1988 and 2000 by theatre artist Sāsān Ghahrimān (b. 1961). Inspired by the 11th century Persian epic Book of Kings (Shāhnāmih), Ghahrimān’s performance blended familiar conventions of Naqālī (Persian public storytelling) with modern Western theatrical conventions. The play’s premiere, staged at Toronto’s Science Centre in 1988, coincided with the UNESCO celebration of the thousand-year existence of the Book of Kings.
The play tells the story of Rustam, a great Persian hero who, unaware of the existence of his son Suhrāb, faces him in a battle, fighting on the opposing side. Not recognizing his son, Rustam wrestles Suhrāb to the ground, stabbing him fatally. As he lays dying, Suhrāb reveals that his love for the mighty Rustam, his father, has brought him there. Seeing his own arm bracelet on Suhrāb, Rustam realizes the truth and mourns the tragic death of his son. For Ghahrimān, however, what makes the story relevant to Iranian immigrants, particularly the second generation, is the fact that Suhrāb is the offspring of an inter-racial marriage and represents the desire for cosmopolitan connections and the change that stems from them. He starts his narrative with the romantic encounter between Rustam and Tahmina (Suhrāb’s mother) and culminates in the cross-cultural confrontation between two opposing sides who must pay the cost of their reluctance to know each other.
What makes this performance distinct from a traditional Naqālī is its modernist approach to the use of sound, light, make-up, and stage design. In addition to meaningful use of props such as a shawl, a cup, and a screen taken from Ta’ziyeh (Persian passion plays) and Pardih Khānī (public screen-readings), the play’s dramaturgy hinges on several estrangement effects such as role-playing, addressing the audience, and using a mask. In terms of acting, Ghahrimān, as a solo performer, plays the role of the narrator, but when needed, he also assumes various characters, swapping between Rustam, Suhrāb, Tahmina, and even himself as the actor impersonating the role of the narrator. This fusion in aesthetics and acting style, according to Ghahrimān, made the performance even more palpable for its young audience.
Throughout its production history, The Ceremony of Killing Suhrāb has always benefited from collaboration with various artist-volunteers in the Persian community. Among these are Levon Haftvan as production manager, Mahmūd Mi’rājī and Hussiyn Zarasvand in stage design, Shāpūr Shahīdī in costume design and make-up, Bahrām Dilāvarī in sound design and music, and Guītī Mīrzanīya in publicity.
The Ceremony of Killing Suhrāb [Majlis-i Suhrāb Kushī] (2010), Toronto. Photos by Simcu Sālihī.
Recently, following a general tendency among Persian theatre artists to adapt European plays, Ghahrimān has moved to adapting European dramas into Persian for a Persian-speaking audience in Toronto. For instance, in 2013 he staged Brian Friel’s Yalta Game in Persian and kept the title of the play’s source, Anton Chekhov’s The Lady with the Lapdog, to attract more audience members. In 2015, he directed and performed in Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s Partners in Crime. Ghahrimān has maintained his passion and tenacity for staging plays in Persian. In these productions and other recent performances with other artists, he relied on private funding, a semi-professional cast, and a minimal crew.
Many thanks to Sāsān Ghahrimān for sharing information and photos from his personal archive.