A fascinating tale of growing up in Iran doesn't quite fit with a second narrative concerning being a single parent.Summary
Rating
Good!
Armed with a glass of red wine from which she sips throughout the seventy-five-minute running time, we’re clearly meant to sympathise with Saria Callas (Sara Amini) and the lonely existence she appears confined to. Largely detailing how she ended up in such circumstances, the play flits between discussing her childhood and teenage years to the character reminiscing about her experiences as a single parent; yet the two narratives seem a little at odds with each other.
Described as a tragicomedy, the play is quite heavy on the former aspect but a little light on laughs. It’s undoubtedly a fascinating one-hander about what it was like growing up in Iran with a passion for music and singing, which is sadly problematic given that once a girl passes a certain age, she is not allowed to sing in public. Despite this, there are initially joyous tales of secret songs and the lies told to adults, often accompanied by what looks like home video footage of some of the incidents. These serve to highlight that even under such circumstances, children can find happiness.
However, as the character ages, the fact that she is unable to sing in public (and is thus incapable of unleashing her personality in the way she wishes) means the narrative becomes bleaker and bleaker. There are a number of times when Callas gives us samples of songs, and Amini has a stunning voice, which only serves to make the fact that Callas had to conceal hers all the more awful. As a whole, the play feels slightly unbalanced. Saria’s memories of fond times with her son Nemo are sporadically referred to, but they’re such a minor part of the play that it feels like it leaps around timelines without a clear sense of purpose. It’s frustrating, as there’s a lot about the difficulties of being a single parent in a patriarchal country which could have made for fascinating material. But the two narratives don’t merge well, and for a very long time, the tales of being a single mother are uneventful.
The way the play ends hangs heavily on revelations concerning that second storyline, yet we’ve spent so little time getting to know Nemo that it lacks dramatic depth, and it is unclear what exactly has occurred since the separation between child and parent. Hopefully, over time, this might be addressed as there are some truly powerful elements throughout the production, especially in the second half of the play, where it covers Callas’ time as a theatre-obsessed teenager and her studies in Paris and Poland. Currently, however, the impact of these events feels rushed, and the overall combination isn’t quite working just yet.
Written & Performed by Sara Amini
Co-Directed by Sara Amini & Manuel Lavandera
Video Directed by Elahe Esmaili
Sound Design by Parham Bahadoran & Babak Rezvani
Set & Costume Design by Mana Sadri Irani
Lighting Design by Ali Hunter
Produced by Robin Paley Yorke
Saria Callas plays at the Camden People’s Theatre until Saturday 17 May
