A Mythical Director Stages His Own Epic

“They – the men – the men of Iran - with their hearts, with their grieved hearts, were saying, what can we do now? That our bows are broken, our arrows have missed, and our arms are weak. And this is the truth, and how it is. Because, they - they had come from a prolonged war. That their prolonged war was harsh. That arrow-throwers from arrows, and bowmen from bows were not recognizable. And unknown men - thousands upon thousands of them- had come from places far – far away. From the land where their bows are fine, and their strings are tightly spun..... And so, everyone, from everywhere, had come. And from them – from the men – none, none ever returned to their land! And hearts were filled with sorrow, and the sky was dark....” 

(Translation of Arash, 1958, from Bahram Beyzaie’s Book of Plays (Divan-e Namayesh), pp. 19-20)

Bahram Beyzaie staged a new play reading of his legendary play, Arash, last weekend at Stanford University before a sold out audience. The play, a modern classic of Iranian theatre, has been performed by different theatre companies across the world in multiple languages, but the Stanford staging is the first that Beyzaie presents himself. Read by the accomplished Iranian stage actress Mojdeh Shamsaie and the prominent musician and actor Mohsen Namjoo, the play recounts the mythical story of Arash the Archer, the ultimate symbol of patriotism, devotion, and love for Iran.

The origins of the Arash myth date back to a sentence-long entry in the Avesta, the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism that predate Christianity. The sacred text briefly mentions how Arash the Archer regained the lands of ancient Iran from arch-enemy Touran by shooting an arrow, the landing place of which the Touranians agreed would determine the border of the two territories. Arash shot the arrow with all his might, putting his own life in the shot, and the arrow traveled for days to set the rightful border. Even in Iran's national epic, the Shahnameh, the great Persian poet Ferdowsi falls short of telling the full story of Arash, making only proud references to his courage and heroism. It is only in the 20th century that Arash’s story more fully emerges, re-told by a few poets and authors. Among these modern renditions, Beyzaie's “Arash,” written in 1958 when the director was just 20, stands apart, composed in the style of Iranian storytelling, ravayat, for one, two, or several simultaneous storytellers. 

Beyzaie’s Arash is an unpretentious anti-hero, the man least expected to deliver the land of Iran back to its people. Beyzaie’s heroes all come from the bottom layers of the society, and in the process provide hope and aspiration for all Iranians to be the next heroes.Throughout his career, Beyzaie has sought to revive and regain respect for traditional Iranian theater forms such as oral storytelling, naghalli, shadow plays, and puppetry. His version of Arash was a first step in a project that has spanned close to six decades, bringing back the fading art of Iranian theater, preserving Iranian mythology, and teaching thousands of eager theater, film, and literature students.

During a rehearsal for the upcoming play, I asked Mr. Beyzaie and Mojdeh Shamsaie, the director’s wife, about the melodic backdrop to the story's narration. Shamsaie said the melodies have always been in Beyzaie’s head, and whenever he read the story to her, she was always aware of that melody, which set its own pace and reflected a great deal that is not easily conveyed in following the text of the play. This is the first time others get to hear it, too - well “almost,” as Bahram Beyzaie added himself! The couple seemed excited to be sharing Arash and that melody with audiences for the first time that weekend at Stanford University, where Bayzaie has been a Bita Daryabari Visiting Professor of Persian Studies for the past two years. His staging of Arash had the support of the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies. 

Beyzaie’s words in the closing passage of the Arash script are a stark reminder of a nation’s ongoing hopes and aspirations for freedom and a bright future for Iran.

“The sun gives light to the sky and the earth, and it is stunning at dawn. The clouds softly make rain. The fields are green. There is no harm. There is joy; joy for others. Alborz is tall and its head brushes against the sky. And we stand up at the foot of Alborz; and against enemies from our own blood with ugly smiles. And I know a people who still say: Arash shall return.” 

(Translation of Arash, from Bahram Beyzaie’s Book of Plays (Divan-e Namayesh), page 49)