Tehran Times Art Desk

TEHRAN -- Iranian director Hossein Mosafer Astaneh restaged his play, “Love Resurrection”, in Khoy on October 27 in honor of Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207-1273).

The performances form part of a week-long program arranged to commemorate the 800th birth anniversary of the Persian poet and mystic in Iran.

The play is staged using a ballet-type style of movement blended with music composed by Saeid Zehni and depicts significant events in Rumi’s life.

“The drama begins with Rumi’s death and then has flashbacks to his childhood and to the era of the ‘elite-killing’ Khwarazm-shah dynasty. It continues with the Mogul invasion of Iran, Rumi’s first encounter with his wife Gohar Khatun and the play ends with several other events,” Mosafer Astaneh told the Mehr News Agency on Saturday.

Rumi’s first encounter with Shams of Tabriz in Konya is at the core of the play, he explained.

Rumi was strongly influenced by Shams, who became his mentor for a period of time.

Mosafer Astaneh, in reference to the programs organized in commemoration of Rumi by Turkey, the Republic of Azerbaijan and Afghanistan, remarked, “We should not stand by idly, waiting for others to spotlight such luminaries.”

“Love Resurrection” will run until October 29 in Khoy, which is home to the tomb of Shams. The troupe will resume performances at Tehran’s Bahman Cultural Center.

Written by Mohammad Rahmanian, “Love Resurrection” was previously staged during the 8th International Black Sea Countries’ Theater Festival in Trabzon in May 2007 and at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris last October.

The ballet-like movements have been choreographed by Nader Rajabpur.

Behzad Javedanfar, Mohsen Torabi-Gudarzi, Ali Barati, Ali-Akbar Mosafer, Bahador Fazel, Reza Rad, Neli Reihani, Zohreh Aqalu, Elnaz Tarikhi, Ramak Far-Khojasteh, Ghazleh Soheili, Neda Sayyas, and Lida Fat’hollahi are members of the cast