Dear Shaded Viewers,
Last night I went to the Musee Quai Branly for the preview of Shahname Une Epopee Persane aka Feathers of Fire. Those of you with children might enjoy bringing them to experience this shadow theatre. It is a story of an epic battle to save Persia and the story of a love affair against all odds as their families are feuding. Shadow theatre is the earliest form of theatre. Actors act back stage in front of lights. Actors wear 3-dimensional costumes and masks. If you watch the above video you will understand how the director makes it happen and see the costumes up close. Profiles are on two different sides. Larry Reed is the Shadow Master who makes the 3-D masks then the light source is video projections. It is part history and part mythology. The story spans thousands of years and every child in Iran grew up with this literature.
The illustrator and director of Iranian animated films Hamid Rahmanian adapts on stage the story of Zal and Roudabeh, drawn from the legendary Book of Kings – Shâhnâmè of the poet Ferdowsi. Considered as one of the greatest literary works in Asia, this epic written in the tenth century tells in verse the mythological history of ancient Persia, including several tales of heroes and famous people in Iranian history.
Created in 2016 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music under the original title of Feathers of Fire, this show mixes innovative techniques of shadow puppetry, animation and theater. The forbidden love story opens today and is in english with french sub-titles.
Due to the yellow jackets Saturday’s 14h performance will take place tomorrow, Sunday 09.
