Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role
{{Infobox play
| name = Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role
| image = Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role, front cover of the English translation.jpg
| alt =
| caption = front cover of the English edition (2010)
| writer = Bahram Beyzai
| chorus =
| characters = {{plainlist|
- Mowhebat
- Zolfaqar
- Ms. Meshkin
- Zarrin
- Maher
- Khadang
- Davalpa
- Belqeys
- Majnun
- Questioners, Landlords, Passers-by, Policemen, etc.
}}
| mute =
| setting = Tehran during the 1979 revolution of Iran
| premiere = {{Start date|2003||}}
| place = Sanglaj Theatre, Tehran
| orig_lang = Persian
| series =
| subject =
| genre =
| web =
}}
Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role ({{langx|fa|خاطرات هنرپیشهٔ نقش دوم|italic=yes|translit=khaterat-e honarpishe-ye naqsh-e dovvom}}) is a 1982 play by Bahram Beyzai.
Plot
The play recounts the urban adventures of two male villagers (named Mowhebat and Zolfaqar) in Tehran during the earlier stages of street demonstrations in the 1979 revolution. Driven by drought and indigence, the two arrive in the large city in the latter months of the shah's rule in order to seek employment. They end up as hirelings in large crowds of mercenary vagabonds demonstrating against revolutionaries. Each day they dress up as workers, party members, students, parents of demonstrating students protesting against their own rebellious children, etc. Their unwittingly reactionary occupation in troubled times adds up to catastrophic consequences.Beyzai, Bahram. Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role: A Play. translated with an introduction and bibliography by M. R. Ghanoonparvar. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, Inc. 2010.{{cite journal | last1 = Ghanoonparvar | first1 = M. R. | year = 2013 | title = Collective Identity and Despotism: Lessons in Two Plays by Bahram Beyzaie | doi = 10.1080/00210862.2013.789741 | journal = Iranian Studies | volume = 46 | issue = 5| pages = 753–764 | s2cid = 145211419 }}
Text
The play was written in 1982 and first published in the spring of 1983 by Damavand Publishing House; which has been its only licensed publication in Persian.{{Cite web|url=http://opac.nlai.ir/opac-prod/bibliographic/546451|title=خاطرات هنرپیشه نقش دوم: نمایشنامه|access-date=2015-08-19|archive-date=2017-08-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831221949/http://opac.nlai.ir/opac-prod/bibliographic/546451|url-status=dead}} In 2010 it was published in the United States in Mohammad Reza Ghanoonparvar's English translation.{{Cite web|url=https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15120341W/Memoirs_of_the_actor_in_a_supporting_role|title=Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role (2010 edition) {{pipe}} Open Library|website=Open Library}}{{Cite book |isbn = 9781568592763|title = Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role: A Play|last1 = Bayz̤Āʼī|first1 = Bahrām|year = 2010| publisher=Mazda Publishers }}
Performance
The play has never been directed and produced by the playwright. Yet, other notable performances include the 2003 autumn production in Tehran directed by Hadi Marzban with a cast of 42 and with Farzaneh Kaboli in one of the leading roles.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/arts/story/2003/12/printable/031202_pm-pa-marzban|title=BBC Persian|website=www.bbc.com}}
In Other Languages
The play was translated into English by M.R. Ghanoonparvar and published in 2010 in the United States:{{Cite web|url=http://www.mazdapublishers.com/book/memoirs-of-the-actor-in-a-supporting-rolea-play|title = Mazda Publishers - Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role:A Play}}
- Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role: A Play by Bahram Beyzai (2010)
{{cite book
| first = Bahram
| last = Beyzai
| authorlink = Bahram Beyzai
| translator-last1= Ghanoonparvar
| translator-first1= M.R.
| translator-link1= M.R. Ghanoonparvar
| title = Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role: A Play
| publisher = Mazda Publishers
| url = https://lccn.loc.gov/2010008042
| date = 2010
| isbn = 9781568592763
| lccn = 2010008042
| access-date = 28 January 2020}}
References
{{Reflist|1}}
External links
- Beyzai, Bahram. Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role: A Play. translated with an introduction and bibliography by M.R. Ghanoonparvar. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, Inc. 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-56859-276-3}}
- [http://www.noormags.ir/view/fa/articlepage/999777/%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%B7%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%87%D9%86%D8%B1%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%B4%D9%87-%D9%86%D9%82%D8%B4-%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%85 «خاطرات هنرپیشه نقش دوم» مجله بخارا، مهر - دی ۱۳۸۹ - شماره ۷۷ و ۷۸، ص ۶۵۶-۶۵۷ Noor Specialized Magazines Website]
- {{cite journal| last1 = Ghanoonparvar| first1 = M.R.| year = 2013| title = Collective Identity and Despotism: Lessons in Two Plays by Bahram Beyzaie| doi = 10.1080/00210862.2013.789741| journal = Iranian Studies| volume = 46| issue = 5| pages = 753–764| s2cid = 145211419}}
{{Bahram Beyzai}}
Category:Plays by Bahram Beyzai
Category:Persian-language books
Category:Fiction set in the 1970s
Category:Plays set in the 1970s