Iranian Nights

Submitted To. Sir Aamir Zahoor

Submitted By. Muhammad Naveed Niaz

Registration No. MAEN-023R18-24

Subject. South Asia Literature

Institute of Southern Punjab

Iranian Night
Howard Brenton and Tariq Ali wrote this play together quickly in five exciting
days, this speed was essential because play is a response to the crisis in this
country generated by the appalling predicament that Salman Rushdie finds
himself in.

The play is not about Rushdie and neither his troubles nor it is about his book
witty and irreverent, IRANIAN NIGHTS is intended to foster a true understanding
of Islam and Islamic culture. For IRANIAN NIGHTS is a modest exercise in the right
of free expression. Play is for the awareness of the audience. The play was first
performed on 19th April 1989 and runs for approx. 45 minutes without an interval.

Structure
The play is influenced by impressionistic theatre, impressed by folk tradition. Folk
tradition theatre was chorus, folk music and songs. But Iranian Nights doesn’t
include specific chorus as the characters plays the role of chorus as well. There
are no folk songs as well, but there is poetry with traditional war music. The play
lacks the sequence as there is no specific storyline so no beginning and ending to
the play, sequence of events. The play has very strong thematic concerns as it
vividly shows images narrated by the character Scheherazade.

Characters
There are three Characters mentioned in the beginning of the play that is The
Caliph Scheherazade and Omar Khayyam.
 In the beginning of the play Omar Khayyam approaches and eyes the audience,
starts a story like a prologue. It’s a folklore tradition in which prologues are
included.

Scheherazade is a historical character taken from the folk tale ‘One thousand
and One Night’ in which the girl narrates different stories to the King.
Scheherazade narrates stories to the Caliph, the story she narrates is all having
modern images. So it is all a mixture of past and present. The story she narrates is
ironic, witty and satirizes the Caliphs, the Mullahs trying to hide their weakness
and those who kills and murders in the name of Islam. Her stories enlighten the
hypocrisy and dualities within Muslim society. It’s the character of Scheherazade
that processes the play and shifts the scenes from one to another in continuous
manner; her character uses history to relate present issues. The reader is
oscillated between past and present so that reader could get the issues well and
learning from history should improvise decisions and views. Scheherazade talks
wisdom and reality.

The character of Omar sometimes acts as a chorus as well as aside as he keeps

the audience hooked up with the procession of the play. The character of Omar
was in the beginning and then faded a bit.

The Caliph is representative if all the Caliphs that has passed or at present time.
He is through his character shown powerful and authoritative when Caliphs
orders to shot the executioners who are on strike.

Later as the play proceeds, the characters Omar, Caliph and Scheherazade seems
to adapt the role of other characters as well by merely changing robes. The
characters shift to another by telling audience and in front of them.

The Caliph becomes the Holy Man, by putting on role, helped by Scheherazade it
is also a technique that no scene or change of actor or intervals takes place, yet
still there is change roles. Omar later plays the role of the poet who did
blasphemy. Scheherazade plays the role of chorus. Later the Caliph plays the role
of Father and Omar as Son who immigrated to North.

Another character of Satin introduced in the end of the play but no proper
description or introduction is given.