Water Lily, a Combination of Eastern Cultures
March 11, 1999 - 0:0
Playwright and director: Hamid Amjad Stage designer: Reza Kianian Music: Fardin Khalatbari Cast: Parastoo Golestani and Behrouz Baqaei ----TEHRAN This play tells the story of how an isolated monk accidentally sees a lonely girl. This chance encounter consequently leads to forming of deep relations between the two. Unfortunately as fate would have it, this relationship only brings tragedy in its wake; at the end, the relationship brings nothing but death for them.
The play Water Lily plot has been derived from different Eastern stories. It is in fact the same story of a pious worshiper who loses his strong belief when he sees a beautiful red rose. It is the story of a man who loses his afterlife because he has certain belongings in the materialistic life. Such stories are deep-rooted in the ancient literature of many Eastern countries.
It is the same theme used by Sheikh Attar and Sheikh Saffan. These stories have been continually used till the present time. In fact, Amjad can not be considered as the playwright of The Water Lily, for the story has been written many many years ago. His work is laudable just for the reason that he could bring the story on the stage and combine several ancient stories with each other successfully.
In The Water Lily the audience witnesses two different characters: A woman, who is the symbol of life and dynamism and a monk who is the symbol of death, passiveness and isolation. The monk has taken solitude and has been isolated from the world. He is determined to fulfill his spiritual goals and forgets the materialistic aspects of life. But when he sees the young girl, he forgets his promise, commitment and objectives.
Finally he makes a mistake and starts having doubts about his own objectives. His biggest mistake is when he begins to teach his own lessons to the young girl. The girl applies what the monk has taught her. She prefers death to life and at last the tragedy of the play happens... The play Water Lily is full of traditions and customs of Chinese and Indian people.
It seems that the play displays Buddha's trip to China and dissemination of Buddhism in this country. But it is noteworthy to say that the play is a successful combination of different Eastern cultures. Even the music chosen for The Water Lily follows Indian musical melodies. The audience think that an Indian sings a Persian song. The stage-designing of Reza Kianian has been more successful than the main theme of the play.
As for the performance of the cast, Parastoo Golestani, who plays the role of the young girl, as a symbol of freshness and life presents an attractive performance. But Behrouz Baqaei who plays the role of the monk has failed to present a successful performance in The Water Lily. In general, Amjad by directing The Water Lily, has proved that he is capable of presenting professional works and that he may indeed have a very bright future in the field of theater.
The play Water Lily plot has been derived from different Eastern stories. It is in fact the same story of a pious worshiper who loses his strong belief when he sees a beautiful red rose. It is the story of a man who loses his afterlife because he has certain belongings in the materialistic life. Such stories are deep-rooted in the ancient literature of many Eastern countries.
It is the same theme used by Sheikh Attar and Sheikh Saffan. These stories have been continually used till the present time. In fact, Amjad can not be considered as the playwright of The Water Lily, for the story has been written many many years ago. His work is laudable just for the reason that he could bring the story on the stage and combine several ancient stories with each other successfully.
In The Water Lily the audience witnesses two different characters: A woman, who is the symbol of life and dynamism and a monk who is the symbol of death, passiveness and isolation. The monk has taken solitude and has been isolated from the world. He is determined to fulfill his spiritual goals and forgets the materialistic aspects of life. But when he sees the young girl, he forgets his promise, commitment and objectives.
Finally he makes a mistake and starts having doubts about his own objectives. His biggest mistake is when he begins to teach his own lessons to the young girl. The girl applies what the monk has taught her. She prefers death to life and at last the tragedy of the play happens... The play Water Lily is full of traditions and customs of Chinese and Indian people.
It seems that the play displays Buddha's trip to China and dissemination of Buddhism in this country. But it is noteworthy to say that the play is a successful combination of different Eastern cultures. Even the music chosen for The Water Lily follows Indian musical melodies. The audience think that an Indian sings a Persian song. The stage-designing of Reza Kianian has been more successful than the main theme of the play.
As for the performance of the cast, Parastoo Golestani, who plays the role of the young girl, as a symbol of freshness and life presents an attractive performance. But Behrouz Baqaei who plays the role of the monk has failed to present a successful performance in The Water Lily. In general, Amjad by directing The Water Lily, has proved that he is capable of presenting professional works and that he may indeed have a very bright future in the field of theater.