RICHMOND, Calif. — Following last year’s successful limited run, sweeping romance returns to the Bay Area with “Leili & Majnun,” written and directed by acclaimed Bay Area artist Torange Yeghiazarian.
Arguably the most popular love story in the Middle East and Central Asia, this timeless tale of star-crossed lovers is often cited as source inspiration for Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. The production will play October 31 to November 23, at Central Stage (5221 Central Avenue, Richmond).
Opening is Sunday, November 2 at 3 p.m.
“During this particularly violent and inhuman era, ‘Leili & Majnun’ serves as a means of self-preservation by centering women, the arts and the triumph of love,” said Yeghiazarian, who founded the renowned Golden Thread Productions celebrating its 30th-anniversary next year. “It’s been a joy to uplift this beloved story from the Middle East with some of the best SWANA artistic talent in the Bay Area in a space like Central Stage that has deep community roots.”
As told in the 12th-century in Persian by master poet, Nizami Ganjavi, this ancient Arab fable revolves around the title characters who meet as children in school and fall in love. Leili’s family will not allow their union, which drives Majnun mad (Majnun literally means “mad” in Arabic). Unexpected from a woman at that time, Leili resists her family and society’s expectations, and finds a way to be with Majnun — albeit briefly and with tragic results. Leili & Majnun might be known as a tragedy and Majnun as the ultimate tragic hero, yet in Leili, Nizami has created a female Arab character that is educated, smart, a skilled poet, and an articulate adult that exercises agency and stands her ground. Yeghiazarian centers Leili as the leading character, attempts to shed more light on Leili’s dramatic point of view.
Yeghiazarian, who has translated and adapted numerous Middle Eastern fables and legends both for adult and young audiences, borrows from the Naqqali storytelling tradition. Originally performed by a solo and transformative male storyteller in a public space, Yeghiazarian’s adaptation of “Leili & Majnun” casts a female Naqqal supported by an ensemble that breaks the fourth wall with contemporary commentary to engage present-day audiences. This “luminous tribute to the Nizami epic” features ensemble movement and live music, as well as selections from the original Persian poetry to expose audiences to the beauty and musicality of the Persian language.
