Censorship and Contemporary Iranian Theatre

我以实践为基础的博士研究将调查审查制度对当代(1979年革命后)伊朗戏剧形成的影响。我将探索导演如何在审查制度下找到讲述故事的方法，反过来，审查制度如何导致女性角色从伊朗剧院淡出。该项目将通过案例研究、研讨会和表演--有没有强制性对象(头巾)--在那里我将研究作为审查制度的政府指导如何构建表演性方法以及与观众的联系。利用朱迪思·巴特勒的主宰理论和权力对女性身体形成的影响(1997)，以及Afsaneh Najmabadi的中东历史方法(2005)，我将探索伊朗的戏剧激进主义以及妇女抵制强加的美学的方式。我还将分别引用海伦·弗雷什沃特(Helen Freshwater)(2009)和丽莎·戈德曼(Lisa Goldman)(2012)对英国和伊朗剧院审查制度的研究，作为对各自档案的直接探索。此外，我将反思我在疫情期间在国际红幕数字戏剧节上的经历，在那里我表演了我的一部被禁戏剧，以评估免费数字平台如何提供新的机会来逃避审查。我的参与向我表明，在一个没有审查的环境中，我的导演方法变得多么不同。伊斯兰共和国自1979年成立以来，主要通过文化和伊斯兰指导部的活动，对媒体和艺术进行审查。自2010年代以来，在我作为一名职业演员的实践中，我在舞台上遇到了几个这样的限制：规定了女性演员可以接受或不能接受的身体行为的具体约定，禁止接吻、拥抱或男女之间的任何身体接触，以及强制性围巾-伊斯兰共和国宗教意识形态的主要象征。作为一名表演者，我的一切都被剥夺了。我在舞台上只有我的脸和声音，所以我必须找到策略来向观众传达一个角色的性质。随后，我开始编剧和导演关于女性的戏剧，主要是因为伊朗缺乏坚强的女性角色和以女性为中心的戏剧。但后来我不得不克服一种不同类型的限制，即我可以涵盖哪些主题，以及被禁止批评伊朗的当前局势。我想调查在审查制度的背景下与观众沟通的方式。通过了解我的国家的障碍，我将能够探索英国的不同类型的障碍，特别是那些女性遇到的障碍。考虑到每种文化的社会和宗教障碍，我期待着研究我的文化和英国在这方面的异同。我还想通过表演来审视来自中东的移民妇女面临的宗教和传统界限。

My practice-based PhD research will investigate the effect of censorship on the formation of contemporary (post-1979 Revolution) Iranian theatre. I will explore how directors have found ways to tell their stories despite censorship and, conversely, how censorship has led to female characters fading from Iranian theatres. The project will be conducted through case studies, workshops, and performances - with and without the mandatory object (headscarf) - where I will examine how government guidance as censorship structures performative approaches and the connection with audiences. Using Judith Butler's theories of subjection and the effect of power on the formation of the female body (1997) alongside Afsaneh Najmabadi's Middle Eastern historical approach to how women are seen in a religion-based social system (2005), I will explore theatre activism in Iran and the ways in which women's resistance to an imposed aesthetic is practised. I will also draw on Helen Freshwater's (2009) and Lisa Goldman's research (2012) on theatre censorship in the UK and Iran, respectively, as a well-direct exploration of the respective archives. Additionally, I will reflect on my experiences at the digital theatre festival The Red Curtain International during the pandemic, where I performed one of my banned plays, to assess how free digital platforms can offer new opportunities to evade censorship. My participation there showed me how different my approach towards directing became in a censorship-free environment.The Islamic Republic has enforced censorship of the media and the arts since its inception in 1979, mainly through the activities of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. In my practice as a professional actress since the 2010s, I have encountered several of such restrictions onstage: specific conventions dictating what physical actions are acceptable/unacceptable for female actors, the prohibition of kissing, hugging, or any physical contact between men and women, and the mandatory scarf - the main symbol of the Islamic Republic's religious ideology. As a performer, literally everything was taken away from me. I only had my face and voice on the stage, so I had to find strategies to convey the nature of a role to an audience. Subsequently, I started writing and directing plays about women, mainly because of the lack of strong female characters and female-centred plays in Iran. But then I had to overcome a different type of restriction regarding what subjects I could cover and being forbidden from criticizing the current situation in Iran.I want to investigate ways of communicating with the audience in the context of censorship. By understanding the obstacles in my country, I will be able to explore the different kinds of obstacles in the UK, especially those women encounter. Considering each culture's social and religious barriers, I look forward to researching the differences and similarities between my culture and the UK in this respect. I also want to examine, through performance, the religious and traditional boundaries that migrant women from the Middle East face.