TEHRAN – A lineup of religious theatrical performances will go on stage across Iran in the coming weeks to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of the third Imam of the Shia, Imam Hussein (AS), and his companions.

The performances will take place in Tehran and several other cities, the Center for Dramatic Arts announced in a press release on Sunday.

A series of tazieh performances about the tragedy of Ashura, the day upon which Imam Hussein (AS) and his companions were martyred at the Battle of Karbala, will begin in the courtyard of Tehran’s City Theater Complex on Tuesday evening and will be running for 10 nights.

“Look at the Sky” by Shahab Raheleh and “A Red Rose” by Hossein Aalambakhsh are the two plays to be staged at the complex during the lunar months of Muharram and Safar.

Veteran director Alaeddin Qasemi is also scheduled to stage a series of tazieh performances in the courtyard of the City Theater Complex for six nights beginning on November 3.

Tazieh is an Iranian passion play that recounts religious events, historical and mythical stories, and folktales. Each performance has the four components of poetry, music, song and motion. Performers are always male, and female roles are played by men. 

Tazieh was registered on UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in November 2010.

Photo: Thespians from a troupe led by the veteran actor of stage and screen Siavash Tahmures perform a tazieh about the tragedy of Ashura in the courtyard of the Revayate Fath Cultural Foundation in Tehran on September 25, 2017. (Mehr/Mehran Riazi)

RM/MMS/YAW