TEHRAN -- Tehran theaters are staging five plays on the occasion of the mourning ceremony of Muharram, the lunar month that marks the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS) and a number of his followers on the tenth day of the month, Ashura.

The Vahdat Hall is hosting “A Skirt filled with Stars and the Moon” by Amir Dejakam from December 6. The play will be on stage for ten days and its public performances will begin on December 22.
The play is the narration of the Ashura events by Umm ul-Banin, the second wife of Imam Ali (AS) and mother of Hazrat Abbas (AS) who was martyred in Karbala. She narrated the event after three years for ordinary people.
Golchehreh Sajjadieh, Asghar Hemmat, Hossein Moheb Ahari and Shahram Abdoli star in the performance.
Kurosh Zarei’s “The Passengers of Kufa” will go on stage at the Azadi Tower’s main hall from December 18. The Karbala scenes are depicted by music, movement and pictures.
“The Passengers of Kufa” is a narration of the journey of the Karbala caravan to Sham and events that happened at Kufa. Kazem Nazari, Ali Farahnaz and Leila-Sadat Musavi are among the cast.
“The Infinite Recital” by Farhad Ershad is currently on screen at the Mah Hall of Tehran’s Art Bureau. The play is about two soldiers Hamdan and Sabah who narrate the adventures of Ashura for two people named Morvarid and Jafar.
Mohammad-Hadi Foruzeh, Seyyed Mahmud Sorurinejad, Leila Mirzaee and Farhad Azadi star in the film.
Kiarash Zaretalab is staging “Trial of Sun” at the Mehr Hall of Tehran’s Art Bureau.
The play is a narration of a tazieh -- an Iranian passion play -- during which a cast member playing the role of a companion of Imam Hussein (AS) is murdered and the police conduct an inquiry questioning the other members to find the murderer.
The “Ashura” opera puppet show by director Behruz Gharibpur will go on stage at the Ferdowsi Hall from December 12. The Ashura opera puppet show is a blend of music, puppetry, poetry, and tazieh.
Photo: Hossein Mosafer-Astaneh’s troupe performs in a scene from “In the Frame of the Moon”, a play on the Ashura event, at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on January 4, 2009. (Mehr/Ra’uf Mohseni)