Estonian troupe to perform “Antigone” in Tehran

TEHRAN,Aug.23(MNA) – An Estonian troupe along with Iranian director Homayun Ghanizadeh will perform “Antigone” at Tehran’s Iranshahr Theater Complex today. “The idea to stage ‘Antigone’ dates back three years ago. I selected members of the cast during a short workshop I held in Estonia,” Ghanizadeh said on Tuesday during a press conference. He referred to the differences in the way Iranian and Estonian theater troupes perform and said that staging “Antigone” will be a good experience for him. “In Iran, a director should give many ideas during rehearsals and his/her cast chooses the best, but in Estonia, cast members create great thoughts from little ideas,” he added. The idea of how to perform the play was formed mostly during a series of rehearsals at a large church in Estonia. “Working with Ghanizadeh was interesting for me. He gives outstanding ideas and he knows how he can influence the audience,” said actress Elina Reinold who was in attendance at the press conference. The troupe performed the play during the 29th Fajr International Theater Festival in February 2011. Reinold won the best actress award for her portrayal of Antigone. A performance of the play at the festival drew an audience of 800 theatergoers. The troupe performed the play in several theaters across Estonia. Anderson Ago, Raimo Pass, Ulle Lichtfeldt and Kulli Reinumagi are the main members of the troupe, which is affiliated with the R.A.A.A.M Theater Company in Estonia. Ghanizadeh wrote the play based Sophocle’s Antigone. In Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Oedipus’ mother. The name has been suggested to mean “opposed to motherhood” or “in place of a mother”. The name may also mean “against men” since men were dominant in the Ancient Greek family structure and Antigone clearly defied masculine authority. The play will be on stage until September 10 at Iranshahr.