TEHRAN – A collection of five plays from Western literature have recently been published in Persian in Iran, publisher Nimaj has announced. 

“Hernani” by prominent French author Victor Hugo is a highlight of the books. 

Translated by Ramtin Shahbazi, the play is about a tragic love story between a former noble, who became a bandit after being banished, and a young woman named Donna Sol de Silva, who has two other suitors, her uncle Don Ruy Gomez and Don Carlos, king of Spain.

French writer Jean Genet’s 1947 play “Deathwatch” rendered into Persian by Media Kashigar is another book in the collection. 

The play is about four prisoners who are locked up in the same cell. Green-Eyes has killed a woman and is to be guillotined. Maurice and Lefranc have been sentenced for more minor crimes. 

Maurice has a deep attachment to Green-Eyes, as does Lefranc, but secretly. He also hates Maurice, while feigning to hate Green-Eyes, preferring him to Snowball, who is also condemned to death, and along with Green-Eyes, they are considered the Kings of the prison.

Translated by Mohammad Monem, “The Humans” by American playwright Stephen Karam is also among the books. It is about the unhappy Blake family who gathers together on Thanksgiving while the family members are dealing with aging, illness and a changing economy. 

The play was a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Play.

French playwright Philippe Minyana’s “Inventories”, about three actresses who agree to reveal their personal secrets on stage every night, is another book. It has been translated into Persian by Ziba Khadem-Haqiqat.

Another book is American writer Nick Zagone’s “Smoke Scenes”. The play is about two actors on a stage who try to make and continue dialogues about smoking.

The play has been translated into Persian by Farhad Bigdelu.

Photo: Front covers of the Persian versions of the plays published by Nimaj Publications in Tehran.

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