The Previous Work /
About the Play Rhinoceros
What Nasir Malekijoo presents in the play “Rhino” is far beyond the text written by “Eugene
Ionesco “. In fact, the director usually tends to make fundamental alterations to a familiar
popular story in his plays. Here, in this play, there’s no obvious trace of the well-known
characters depicted in the renowned play “Rhino”. Many of the characters are conceived in
the mind of the director, and that’s the point that Nasir Malekijoo defines as a crucial necessity
to bring a dramatic literary work to performance. Here, the original text loses its progressive
position, and in fact, this is the director who narrates everything. From the viewpoint of Nasir
Malekijoo, the hero of the story belongs to all the characters. Before the dialogs begin to reveal
the absurd aspect of the play “Rhino”, absurdism is internalized and exposed in the whole body
and gestures of the cast. The absurd and nihilistic set design forms an effective expression
of the futile behavior of the characters, as well. The exaggerated neurotic gestures and the
melancholy impressed on their faces, all of that would be an implication of a humdrum routine
society which is lost in its soul-destroying habits and repetitious clichés.
Director/ Dramaturgy/ Scene Designer/ Costume Designer: Nasir Malekijoo
120 minutes
Iranshahr Hall 2016
