"Beyond Words" is a joint Iranian-French play that went on stage at the 35th Fajr International Theater Festival in Tehran on January 27-28. Written by Iranian director Jafar Mahyari, the play has no dialogue. It’s a combination of dramatic techniques, movements, videos, music, light and shadows. What follows is a quick chat with the cast and crew:
How did you come up with the idea for a joint Iranian-French play?
Jafar Mahyari: Zendegi Theater Group and Litecox got together in Turkey in 2013. Two years later we asked Litecox, which is a dance group, to hold a workshop in Tehran and Isfahan. After that we agreed to work on a play. We began practicing last Summer in France and plan to go on stage again this March.
Daisy Fel: I was excited by the proposition. The idea of two directors working together on a play seemed exciting to me. Our 2015 workshop was a major achievement. It encouraged me to continue cooperation with my Iranian counterpart. What we were after was a play that had a lot of drama and movement. What we do is not just dance. It is very close to theater. The main story line is what Mahyari wrote. I wanted it to be a bit abstract. But what Mahyari was after was a straight story line. We agreed on the end result though. He taught me how to connect with the audience. He taught the same skill to other actors.
Your dance background, how did it help you in the play?
Daisy Fel: In France dance and theater are adjacent. I’m delighted we worked on a play that had both dance and drama in it. I don’t know a lot about Iranian theater. I’m familiar with Iranian cinema though.
Did you watch any Iranian play? What are the differences between Iranian and French plays?
Daisy Fel: I once attended the Children Theater Festival in Hamedan. I saw three plays. I also saw Mahyari’s “Border”. I can’t say much about Iranian theater. All I can say is that standards are different. For instance, you use more facial expressions and gestures. I loved working with Mahyari. It was my first international experience. I managed to immediately connect with other actors such as the character of Saeed Abak. We understood each other well, which is so important in theater. I’m now more confident than ever. I can do it again with ease. I hope the same is true for our audiences.
What is the story line of “Beyond Words”? How did you fill the dialogue gap?
Mahyari: It’s about love and friendship that helps you get rid of eccentricity. This is something that we are all struggling with universally. The play has no set design and depends largely on actors and moves, something like improvising. There is some lighting design that helps the story. Music played a central role as well. It is what I call sound design. The music was designed and composed by Jean-Francois Minjiard. Take out his music and you lose a character from the play. We also had three videos to help audiences understand the plot. Daisy didn’t like the idea, saying it would be difficult to work with. Without these videos it would have become an abstract work though.
Did you design the music based on the story line?
Jean-Francois Minjiard: I designed my own sounds. I used a synthesizer to mix different sounds. I had to know the main theme and the meaning of the play. This way I could transfer the meaning of the play to audiences through music and sound. I wanted to design sounds for the whole story, but because of deadline only composed for four parts.
Jafar Mahyari: The play has eight parts, and for two parts I play Santoor. I selected music for the other two.
Jean-Francois Minjiard: The play tells the story of two different cultures. It seemed natural to use French and Iranian musical instruments. I had to use piano and mix it with Santoor. Piano is universal and goes with any traditional musical instrument.
The music or the sound you designed for the play, is it dramatic or abstract?
I record the hums of the world, the individuals and the truth. I don’t know what I’m after until I have put all these different echoes together in one mix. I didn’t want to narrate the story of “Beyond Words” with music. It could have created a lot of questions for me. I composed the music centered on my relation with the play and the characters.
Why did you decide to go on stage at Fajr Festival?
Jafar Mahyari: The French embassy in Tehran agreed to help us in one condition; that we would also take it to the Fajr Theater Festival. For our French partners it was also important that they be part of the international event. For both of them, participation was key.
Daisy Fel: Fajr Festival is a well-known event in the world. I knew a lot would happen during the annual event. We really wanted to see how audiences would react to our work. We had a successful performance in France. Audiences loved it. I wanted to see similar reactions from our Iranian audiences.
Beatrice Garnier (Dancer): What’s important for Daisy is that actors are honest. She wants to show audiences what she feels is right in that very moment.
Daisy Fel: Beatrice is not an actress. She is a dancer. I had to find a way to mix her dance moves with the play. I told Mahyari that she shouldn’t have any dialogue. Our biggest challenge was to find a way to transfer her feelings of happiness, sadness, attraction and solitude to audiences without using words and only body language.
Jafar Mahyari: At the beginning we narrated some selected parts of the story in French and Persian. We then mixed narration with moves, which helped understand the whole process.
Jean-Francois Minjiard: Every story has two parts. One is the surface which you use to tell the story line. The other is what lies beneath that surface which is really the important part. Audiences have to delve into this part to better understand the story.
Iranian audiences prefer story-based plays. How was the reception?
Jafar Mahyari: Audiences loved it. This was largely for two reasons. The play was different and we all know students like things that are different and out of the ordinary. Our theater group, Zendegi, had other successful plays as well. This helped attract a huge crowd.
Daisy Fel: Audiences should never look for the story line. There are other features to observe as well, such as movement, connection, sympathy for players, lighting, video and music. These features can attract attention too. Audiences didn’t need to follow the whole story. As we say in France, it’s the audience that builds the play. We wanted the play to create different reactions and opinions.
How was your practice and cooperation with Saeed Abak (cast)?
Beatrice Garnier: I enjoyed his companion. He moves smoothly and is a professional performer. He is rational and has good ears for listening. There was a five-month gap between our practice and the actual performance. He worked hard to catch up in Tehran. At first, it was hard for us to connect, but the problem gradually disappeared.
Did you sold out?
Jafar Mahyari: The Arghavan Theater House sold out the tickets for four performances before we could even go on stage. Perhaps this is because the play was a collaborative experience. Whatever it is, it was good news for us. It was a great experience indeed. I worked with a professional French group that knows the craft very well. We worked together as a team and at the same time independently. It was far better than my previous works.
Translation by Bobby Naderi