 |
|
|
 January 15, 2019 Dramatic play reading that explored an episode of Bahá’í history draws large crowd It was standing room only at the dramatic reading of the play, “Tabreez”, written by Marlene Macke, on Nov. 24 at the Ottawa Bahá’í Centre. The full-length play told the story of two families, one Persian, one British, living in Tabriz, Iran, and how their lives intersected around the execution of the Báb on July 9, 1844. The play offered a fascinating combination of historical and fictionalized characters who helped tell the story of this dramatic episode in Bahá’í history. The nine characters, of British, Persian and Armenian origin, were all played by Bahá’í community members, many of whom had not performed on stage before. The show was directed by David Andrews, a retired teacher at Canterbury High School and Linda O’Neil and Heather Harvey acted as producers. Nathalie Thirlwall helped to create period costumes, and the poster and program were designed by Del Carry. The play’s Western characters include David Chandler, a middle-aged British exporter living in Tabriz; his vivacious Canadian niece, Victoria; and their friend Dr. Cormack, an English-Armenian doctor, whose character was based on the real physician that treated the Báb after a severe beating by His enemies. The Persian family consists of the patriarch Mirza Javid, a spice merchant who trades with Chandler; his son, the traditional, sometimes fanatical Mulla Mostafa; his progressively-thinking widowed daughter Shazadeh; and his grandson Farid who works in the family business. The Armenian characters are a couple – Sam Khan, the historically accurate and conflicted commander of the Armenian regiment charged with executing the Báb, and his fictionalized wife, Maryam, a dressmaker and friend of Shazadeh and Victoria. The characters’ lives intertwine through their business relationships, friendships between the women, and everyone’s attempt to understand the historical events that unfold around them. An initial attraction between Victoria and Farid becomes a budding romance with marriage plans by the end of the play. The characters were played by Ottawa Bahá’ís Fred Afagh, Diana Cartwright, David Ienzi, Lisa Olsen, Lua Parsa, John Rager, Faris Rashidi and Shamim Taherzadeh. Reflecting on her experience playing Victoria, children’s author Lisa Olsen said that "’Tabreez’ demonstrates what can be accomplished when unity of thought, will and action combines with the power of the arts to share the stories of our Faith with the world. Lua Parsa, a project manager who played Shazadeh, observed that “the way the story was told made for a very moving and heartfelt experience for both those reading and those listening.” Mulla Mostafa was played so convincingly by Shamim Taherzadeh, a physician, that his young daughter, who hadn’t heard him raise his voice in real life, asked “Why is Daddy acting so mean? We’ve never seen him get angry like that!”
|
|
|
