About the show “Agreement” directed by Koresh Soleimani; Agree on the pure art

Charso Press: In the play “Agreement”, Philip Claudel represents a fluid and abstract world in which concepts such as friendship have become so discredited that in order to build trust, this friendship and camaraderie must be proven anew and agreed upon by the parties. Of course, this abnormal social situation of Khalq al-Saa’ was not created and was more or less the result of the neoliberal policies of the right-wing government of “Valery Giskardsten”. But France’s parliamentary democracy allowed the people to vote in the 1981 elections to end the right-wing government of Giscardesten and elect the socialist Francois Mitterrand as president. Philippe Claudel’s play takes place on the eve of this election and represents the political tensions of an advanced but crisis-stricken European society. The story of the show is about two friends named “Danny” and “Marten” who are sitting in Danny’s house after a long time waiting for a person named “Duval” who is a customer to buy the house. Danny asks Marten to fulfill the condition of thirty years of friendship and facilitate the sale of the house with his presence. In this difficult process of dealing and signing the agreement between the seller and the buyer, undiscovered secrets of Danny and Marten’s long friendship are inevitably revealed and make their friendly relationship tense. In fact, with the invasion of neoliberal capitalism and the materialization of all fields in the 1980s, this tense and mysterious situation in the economy has become more intense and has made, for example, buying and selling an old house a difficult and not very honest thing. In this deal, the component that helps Danny and Marten and facilitates the signing of the agreement with all the issues is related to the fact that these two people are writers and actors. In other words, by performing real and imaginary roles in front of a buyer like Duvall, Danny and Martin create an illusion of a non-existent but desirable reality that is so powerful that it leaves Duvall no choice but to sign the agreement.

Philippe Claudel is trying to consider the contract between Danny and Duval as a metaphor for a world based on deals, like participating in the French presidential elections. Everything is based on the logic of profit and loss, and even the rare concept of “friendship” is not a cure for this incident. Even belonging to the camp of socialism or allegiance to the middle right and liberalism is not a proof of the righteousness of people, and it is humanity that has been distorted and fueled violence in the symbolic arena. This situation can be seen as the blurring of political boundaries, which distorts the correct direction of history. At the same time that abstract human relations and the identity of people have been atomized, in order to keep things in order, it is necessary to sign an agreement and write a written contract. In an advanced society, there is no escaping the rationalization of affairs and the rule of bureaucracy. But this process of bureaucratization of the society will cause many damages. It may seem that art and literature are still an alternative to the total dominance of instrumental rationality, but Danny and Martin show that they use their artistic capacities for their own benefit and live in the spirit of the times, which is utilitarianism.

In terms of performance, Koresh Soleimani, as a director, is faithful to the text of the play he has chosen, as in his previous plays. From this point of view, the audience of the works of this experienced and classic director, while watching his shows, will not get caught up in the strange adventures that plague the country’s theater these days. Koresh Soleimani, in the name of dramaturgy of text and performance, does not bring down any calamity on the text of the play and faithfully believes in the author he has chosen. The result of this approach is undoubtedly the production of a theater that has a performance identity, defines its story completely, allows the characters to come to life and drama is made from their conversations and relationships. The “Agreement” play, which was staged at the Ostad Nazerzadeh hall of the Iranshahr complex, is a clear example of the admirable loyalty of an Iranian director in the face of a well-made French play. Everything is in the service of the size of the performance. The acting, set and costume design, use of make-up and music show this “size”. Therefore, the performance does not become a cumbersome thing that came out of the personal and irrational decisions of a delusional and daring director who did not know enough about the world proposed by a playwright with style. Koresh Soleimani trusted the good and smooth translation of Shahla Haeri and with his directing style, he is trying to familiarize the middle-class audience of his show with the political and social atmosphere of France on the eve of the 1981 presidential elections. Perhaps this maximum loyalty of the director to the play can be seen as a kind of executive conservatism, but at a time when the social institution of the theater is plagued by all kinds of perverted radicalisms and irrelevant personal readings, ironically, this conservatism and belief in the established way of theater production can be defended. Koresh Soleimani is a child of university theater and has completed theater education at the University of Dramatic Arts, so it will not be surprising that he produces a theater that is still based on university principles and stays away from the reckless adventures of some inflated egos.

The acting of the actors serves the performance. Behnam Tashkar as Danny, Koresh Soleimani as Marten and Ramin Nasser Nasir who plays the role of Duval, in coordination with each other, have skillfully shown the contradictions, tensions and complicity of Philippe Claudel’s characters. Behnam Tashkar is a combination of a failed actor with a political orientation who wants to sell his house after separating from his wife. Koresh Soleimani in the role of Marten is a principled middle-aged man who has not achieved success in playwriting, but depending on the situation, he can use his imagination to tell attractive narratives for others. As Ramin Nasser Nasir in the role of Duval has been able to play a simple-minded and gullible man who loves art and literature, but does not distinguish the reality of everyday life with a theatrical performance, Duval is a clear example of the mediocrity of middle class people who is neither warm nor cold. Rather, it is lukewarm. From this point of view, one of the positive points of the performance is undoubtedly the good acting and the size of the actors; Based on character creation and avoiding imitation and stereotypes.

In relation to the stage design, Sina Yilagbegi’s attempt is to make a worn-out place but in appearance standing. The appropriate coloring of the walls, ceiling, refrigerator, and the window that shows the night neon lights outside the house evokes a nostalgic feeling of a bygone era, which is intimate and boring. Packed boxes in the corners of the house indicate a residence that cannot be cherished for a long time and should be abandoned if possible. The cooperation of Sina Yilagbeigi with Biston theater group has continued in these years and has achieved good results.

In the end, the play “Agreement” can be considered a standard work of performing a play that both addresses the masses and is not indifferent to the intellectual atmosphere of France. The realism used by Koresh Soleimani is tangible and pleasant for the audience of the theater of Tehran metropolis these days, and this can be seen from their good reception. In any case, in the era when theater production is extremely expensive and limited audit is exhausting, it is difficult to create a high-quality theater. It seems that watching this show ends with the signing of an “agreement” between the executive group and the audience, which seems to be satisfied by both sides of the story.

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