I asked Taeed about the challenges he has faced in staging his play.
He said: “Theater is hard, no matter what the piece is or what the subject is. It is really hard to get people to come see plays, or to make any money out of it. My show’s subject matter is the biggest challenge for non-Bahais, because it’s a taboo. Many people don’t want to be seen coming to this play. Maybe they want to go to Iran, and don’t want to be seen in the audience. Fear, and underlying prejudice which has been cultivated for many, many, many years. People don’t know the history of Bahai faith, and haven’t read any books. They have only ‘heard’ things. Some have read some Raddieh (anti bahai literature), like Kasravi’s Bahai Gari. But they don’t know that much about the Bahai faith and who Bahais are. The other challenge is from Bahais themselves. On the one hand they are apprehensive of me on the stage, fearing what I might say which might somehow harm other Bahais in Iran.
“On the other hand, they want to tell the story of how miserable they have been and they want to shout and tell others how many Bahais have been killed in Iran. They don’t want to laugh. They are worried about a mockery of their faith. They are really serious. Therefore they are partly resistant to the idea of this play also. So bringing it onstage remains a challenge.”
He said: “Theater is hard, no matter what the piece is or what the subject is. It is really hard to get people to come see plays, or to make any money out of it. My show’s subject matter is the biggest challenge for non-Bahais, because it’s a taboo. Many people don’t want to be seen coming to this play. Maybe they want to go to Iran, and don’t want to be seen in the audience. Fear, and underlying prejudice which has been cultivated for many, many, many years. People don’t know the history of Bahai faith, and haven’t read any books. They have only ‘heard’ things. Some have read some Raddieh (anti bahai literature), like Kasravi’s Bahai Gari. But they don’t know that much about the Bahai faith and who Bahais are. The other challenge is from Bahais themselves. On the one hand they are apprehensive of me on the stage, fearing what I might say which might somehow harm other Bahais in Iran.
“On the other hand, they want to tell the story of how miserable they have been and they want to shout and tell others how many Bahais have been killed in Iran. They don’t want to laugh. They are worried about a mockery of their faith. They are really serious. Therefore they are partly resistant to the idea of this play also. So bringing it onstage remains a challenge.”
Taeed chuckles when he says all of these apprehensions are before people see the play! He says: “After the show, things are great! Non-Bahais love it 100% and want to know more about things. The Bahais love it, too, but they say: ‘Why didn’t you say this or that?’ They keep wanting to improve my script! I keep telling them that if you buy a book at Barnes and Noble, you can’t take a few pages out and replace it with your own text! This is my show! This is not an improvisation. I have a 40-page script which I follow closely, because I need to get this right every time. This is not a promotion of Bahai faith. It is just to provide information about Bahais.”
