TEHRAN – Tehran’s Shahrzad Theater Complex is hosting the third round of performances of the play “Out at Sea” written by Polish playwright Sławomir Mrozzek.
Morvarid Afsari will direct the 50-minute play. She also stars alongside Nima Morshedi, Mahshid Sadri, Mohammad Owlaki, Lake Barai, Reza Eslami and Hamid Esparham, Mair reported.
This single-set black comedy is an absurdist tale of survival and democratic decision-making. The film follows the fate of three disparate castaways starving on a life raft and attempts to find a democratic way to decide which of them will be eaten by the other two. One is thin, one is medium weight, and one is overweight.
The arguments become more outlandish, the bullying and flattery intensify, and the intervention of a passing postman and an old servant sends the play into hilarious, surreal overdrive, building to a chilling climax.
Out at Sea was written in Poland during the 1960s, where censorship was harsh. Satirist Sławomir Mrozek was forced to find many unusual angles to convey his scathing commentary on the Soviet regime. One of his regular tactics was to write absurd comedy plays that conveyed dark messages beneath the laughs. Perhaps his best one-act work is the little-known “Out at Sea.”
Slawomir Mrozzek (1930-2013) was a Polish playwright, author, and cartoonist. He joined the Polish United Workers’ Party during Stalinist rule in the People’s Republic of Poland and made a living as a political journalist. He began writing plays in the late 1950s. His theatrical works belong to the genre of absurdist fiction and aim to shock the audience with unrealistic elements, political and historical references, distortions and parodies.
The play will run until November 21 at the Shahrzad theater complex, 74 Rue Noufle-le-Château, Hafez Street.
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