Rosvaie, or scandal, is the name of a new play by Saam Theatre Company in London. The play is the love child of the director, Sousan Farrokhnia, and actors who never had any acting experience or training before. Farrokhnia, with more than 30 years of experience in theatre, once again proved to be a master in her field, turning the female cast into professionals in less than 6 weeks.
The play is the story of five women sharing their unfruitful love lives with each other and the audience. However, as their stories unfold, we learn that the men with whom they fell in love have stark similarities, especially their love of turquoise jewellery.
The first woman, middle aged, tells us about the romance and the intensity of the love affair, until the end when the man could not “put a ring on it”! The relationship ends with turquoise jewellery. The second woman, a bit younger, describes her romance with a similar ending.
The third and fourth love-stricken women, getting younger and younger by turn, suffer the same fate. The last girl, who is currently dating the man, opens her heart to reveal that she had already received the turquoise ring. This is when they realise that they had all fallen in love with the same man who could not commit himself to a long-term relationship.
More than portraying a rosvaie, the play conveys the fact that the man is a charming local tomcat who fails to be monogamous. Has he committed a crime? I am not sure, since he did not marry any of the first four women and probably wouldn’t marry the fifth one either. Fortunately, there are no children involved – only a man following his hormones!
We, women, either due to our genetic imprint or age-old cultural and economic indoctrination, are more often monogamous than not. Our biology condemn us to constant changes from our first menstruation to child-bearing brooding and menopause to such extremes that perhaps we would like to have a bit of stability with a long-term partner rather than jumping from bed to bed.
I believe this was true throughout our evolution from the time we stayed home with the babies and the cat, while men where hunting for food, to the glorious “Housewife” days and now the age of sperm banks!
They play is entertaining and lively, especially with a dance scene by the women that brought about the cheers from the audience. The play is a breathing occasion for a community who has been in the headlines for more than 30 years for all sorts of misfortunes, and who has almost forgotten what entertainment means.
The Saam Theatre group’s future programmes: are as follow:
* “Theatre and Elocution” workshops: once a week, starting on Sunday, 17 July, 4-6pm; at No. 31, Hoop Lane, Golders Green, London NW11 8BS
* Reading Shahnameh: once a week, starting Saturday, 16 July, 5-7 pm; at No. 90, Hodford Road, Golders Green, London NW11 8EG.
* English Classes:, once a week, starting Sunday 17 July, 3-4pm, at No. 31, Hoop Lane, Golders Green, London NW11 8BS
