Performance of 'Death Knocks' in Cologne; Mehdi Akbari: Iranian Theater Abroad Continues with the Support of Love

The play 'Death Knocks' written by the renowned American artist Woody Allen was staged at an event held in Cologne, Germany, to celebrate World Theater Day. The event took place on April 8, organized by Asghar Nasrati and the 'Chahreh Theater Group'. The performance of 'Death Knocks' was based on a free adaptation of the original play, featuring actors Mehdi Akbari and Daryoush Rezvani. Mehdi Akbari also rewrote the text, while Daryoush Rezvani directed the play. In an interview with Voice of America, Mehdi Akbari mentioned that 'Iranian theater abroad continues its path without any support, solely backed by love and passion, and unfortunately faces a tougher road due to lack of funding and audience.' He introduced himself, stating that he studied acting and directing under the supervision of masters Hamid Samandarian and Ismail Shangleh in 1997, and also benefited from other masters such as Qotboddin Sadeghi, Sadr al-Din Shajareh, and Bahram Ebrahimi. He has experience in making three short films for the Young Cinema Society of Tehran and Khorasan, as well as writing several humorous television programs. Since 2017, he has been forced to leave Iran and migrate to Germany, where he now works as an Iranian theater actor and director, as well as a German theater actor. Akbari explained the story of 'Death Knocks', stating that he rewrote the play with a new approach, making fundamental changes to the story and narrative. The plot revolves around a cunning and deceitful expert who confronts death and invites it to a conditional game to free himself from dying. The naive death falls into his trap and loses the game, allowing the expert to escape death and even harm it. He expressed his interest in this theme, stating that he has always been drawn to tricksters who take advantage of crises without concern for social and political slogans, focusing solely on their personal interests. He noted that such individuals play a significant and unfortunately destructive role in countries fighting against dictatorship. The play was presented with more humor and a darker perspective for the audience. Regarding his collaboration with Daryoush Rezvani, Akbari described him as one of the most active directors of Iranian theater abroad, who has directed and acted in various works in Iran, the USA, and Europe. They decided to stage this work after rewriting and making changes for the World Theater Day celebration in Cologne. Akbari found Rezvani's experience and perspective in directing to be very valuable and enjoyable. In this project, he played the role of death while Rezvani portrayed the expert. They aimed to create new characters and utilized set and costume design within the limitations of the venue. The character of death is portrayed as inexperienced and a cinema lover, while the expert is a political trickster. They also paid special attention to the entertainment and humor of the play alongside its political and social references. Akbari emphasized the importance of Iranian theater abroad, stating that it continues without any support and faces a tougher path due to budget and audience shortages. He hopes that Iranians abroad will take this issue more seriously and include theater in their plans, as it always opens new windows to life. The World Theater Day event has been held in Cologne for several years thanks to the efforts of Asghar Nasrati, which is commendable. He hopes that with more support and the presence of art enthusiasts, this valuable movement will be repeated stronger and more motivated in the future. Despite all the challenges, his motivation in this field is solely his love and passion for theater. Alongside the performance of 'Death Knocks', there were other sections such as film screenings, music, reading performances, comedy, and exhibitions. Several cultural and artistic figures attended the event, including Masoud Rahnama, Mohammad Ali Behboudi, Sharifeh Bani Hashmi, Mohammad Taghi Ismaili, Eskandar Abadi, Sima Seyed, Sahel Badrud, Saeed Nafisi Pour, and Bahram Elahi Nasab.