Theatrical Adaptation of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People in Iran: The Intellectual and Modernity in Akbar Radi’s The Decline

Abstract

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsRamin FarhadiRAMIN FARHADI is a PhD candidate in Drama at Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, the University of Manchester, UK. He has research expertise in Anglo-American Theatres, Global Shakespeare, Modern European Drama, and Film Studies. His current research is the critical examination of gender, politics, and civil dissidence in Shakespearean adaptations and appropriations in contemporary Iranian theatre within the context of censorship and conservatism. E-mail: ramin.farhadi@postgrad.manchester.ac.ukNotes1 According to Mirsepassi (2000 Mirsepassi, Ali. 2000. Intellectual Discourse and the Politics of Modernization: Negotiating Modernity in Iran. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 19), the term enlightenment signifies the “universal and normative standards of human behavior and ethics based on a rational, democratic, and humanist model of society”. Enlightenment includes notions and ideals centered on human value and happiness, such as tolerance, liberty, knowledge acquisition, self-consciousness, and the rule of law. Since the turn of the twentieth century, Iranians have adopted the same conception of the foregoing term due to their experience of living under undemocratic governments. The reflection and promotion of enlightenment and its notions can be seen in modern Iranian drama, in which there has been emphasis on truth, self-awareness, and rationalism in the theaters of Akbar Radi and Gholam-Hossein Sae’di in particular (Zahedi 2006 Zahedi, Farindokht. 2006. Henrik Ibsen and Iranian Modern Drama: Reception and Influence. Oslo: Oslo Academic Press. [Google Scholar], chs. 1 & 5).2 In the late nineteenth century Iran, many Iranian academics and scholars, who had their qualifications from European academic institutions, began to negotiate the principles of modernity and democracy in Persia (now Iran). Their pro-democratic movement resulted in the occurrence of the Constitutional Revolution in 1906, which established the first parliament in the country, restricted the Shah’s power, and introduced radical changes in different sectors and fields in politics, social life, education, literature, and legislation. The Revolution was finally defeated when Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar put an end to the rule of constitution and bombarded the parliament with canons in 1908, with the support of Russian and British governments. To read the full account of the Revolution and its rise and fall, see Ansari 2016 Ansari, Ali (Ed.). 2016. Iran’s Constitutional Revolution of 1906: Narratives of the Enlightenment. London: Gingko Library. [Google Scholar].3 For detailed information regarding the theater and cinema adaptations, and stage productions of Ibsen’s plays, including An Enemy of the People, consult the following link: https://ibsenstage.hf.uio.no/pages/search4 Originally a biological and agricultural term, domestication or domesticization in adaptation theory refers to the process of localizing the source text to conform to cultural traditions and meanings of the local audience (Bickley and Stevens 2021 Bickley, Pamela, and Jenny Stevens. 2021. Studying Shakespeare Adaptation: From Restoration Theatre to YouTube. London: Bloomsbury.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Through domestication, the adaptor may transfer the cultural meanings of the original work to the new audience and environment, making the source text more familiar and understandable.