TEHRAN -- Iranian theater scholar Azadeh Ganjeh is gathering different versions of Shakespeare’s magnum opus “Hamlet” which went on stage in Iran.

Ganjeh, who is studying for a Ph.D. in theatrical studies at the University of Bern in Switzerland, said that it is a part of a global study on different performances of Shakespeare in different parts of the world.

A part of this project is studying all performances of “Hamlet” which went on stage at Iranian halls since the introduction of theaters in modernistic form in 1931.

“I do my best to find different versions of the play that went on stage in different periods of time in Iran to be able to analyze them alongside the social and historical state of the country,” she said.

The project is a cultural exchange between the “Hamlet” performances and social conditions, she added.

No film or photos remain from some of these performances, nor do they exist in official sources, she lamented.

“I ask the performers and theater troupes to help us by finding documents for the research,” she said.

“Switzerland supports the project while Iranian officials cannot afford it. However, it is a global project and it is useful for the global aspects of Iranian theater,” she said.

Theater scholar Farindokht Zahedi is Ganjeh’s advisor for this project.

SB/YAW

END