This Naqqali of Bijan and Manijeh was performed by Valiollah Torabi on an arena stage studio theater. The stage in this kind of theater is completely surrounded by the audience. It features a close performer/audience connection which underlines the performer and audience’s sense of community. The light of the stage is set and projected evenly to the same effect. As Naqqali performances would often take place in coffee houses the decor and props are chosen in a way to represent a traditional coffee house. For instance, the walls around the stage are decorated with paintings of epic scenes from Shahnameh. Other details of stage decoration such as using tea pots, sugar bowls, tea cups and saucers along with the paintings are served to create the
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Using khaki brown for the stage background gives the designer the advantage of a neutral color. The freedom to choose any color for other details of the stage is shown in bright blue and red candle holders, different shades of red on sugar bowls, tea pots, Pelargonium flowers and Torabi’s clothing as well. He is dressed in a dark green shirt over which he wore a Persian indigo vest, black pants, and shoes. On the vest’s front the poem “Thy source of might Is knowledge: thus old hearts grow young again” is embroidered with gold; the back is decorated with two swords that resemble Imam Ali’s double bladed sword. Having a Persian poem on front and a religious symbol of justice on back of the vest is significant. It denotes the two sides of the Iranian culture. The front poem is a metaphor for Iranian ancient ethos; that is known for its rich literature part of which is Ferdowsi’s poetry. The religious symbol on the back of the vest shows the other side of Iranian ethos which is their religion and call for justice, symbolized by Imam Ali’s sword. These two sides of the vest and their meaning imply that the Iranian culture is comprised of ancient ethos as well as religion and that these two sides support one another since one is incomplete without the other. Valiollah Torabi, having a retentive memory, knows Ferdowsi’s poems by heart, therefore; he does not use scrolls or Tumar. However, he makes use of his cane or Metraq. As Nadjm in The Art of Story Telling in Iran
Using khaki brown for the stage background gives the designer the advantage of a neutral color. The freedom to choose any color for other details of the stage is shown in bright blue and red candle holders, different shades of red on sugar bowls, tea pots, Pelargonium flowers and Torabi’s clothing as well. He is dressed in a dark green shirt over which he wore a Persian indigo vest, black pants, and shoes. On the vest’s front the poem “Thy source of might Is knowledge: thus old hearts grow young again” is embroidered with gold; the back is decorated with two swords that resemble Imam Ali’s double bladed sword. Having a Persian poem on front and a religious symbol of justice on back of the vest is significant. It denotes the two sides of the Iranian culture. The front poem is a metaphor for Iranian ancient ethos; that is known for its rich literature part of which is Ferdowsi’s poetry. The religious symbol on the back of the vest shows the other side of Iranian ethos which is their religion and call for justice, symbolized by Imam Ali’s sword. These two sides of the vest and their meaning imply that the Iranian culture is comprised of ancient ethos as well as religion and that these two sides support one another since one is incomplete without the other. Valiollah Torabi, having a retentive memory, knows Ferdowsi’s poems by heart, therefore; he does not use scrolls or Tumar. However, he makes use of his cane or Metraq. As Nadjm in The Art of Story Telling in Iran