In The Studio Theatre’s production of “Wish You Were Here,” Nazanin, Salme, Zari, Shideh, and Rana sew each other’s wedding dresses, fix each other’s hair, joke and commiserate. They encourage one another in their varied personal and vocational aspirations. Aspiring engineers or doctors and praying for good fortune, their lives remained constrained by the Iranian Revolution, the Iran-Iraq War and their gender.
Nevertheless, the three survive.
“Funny to have lived through a war and still be mortified by your own period,” says one.
Playwright Saaz Toos’s “Wish You Were Here” is a poignant, penetrating scrapbook of six Iranian women’s lives between 1978 and 1991. It is, in turn, rowdy, lyrical and bloody.
The scenes take place in the friends’ living room. Each gathering offers an opportunity for intimate, sometimes shocking, conversations that happen only when men aren’t around.
“I found my clitoris last night,” one character says. “It was just duh.”
At first, the play resembles a “Girls Trip Goes To Iran.” As patterns emerge, the play moves from living room gatherings to marriages and prayers. As the surrounding wars deepen, expatriation increases. The group shrinks and tensions build.
“I want a day without your prayers. Can that be my gift?” screams Nazarin, whose condition has been the sole focus of her friend Salme’s prayers.
Blood recurs as a theme, whether from war or leaking menstrual fluid. The latter is followed by ritual: apologies, reassurances, the cleaning of the space and changing clothes. These extended moments are filled with vulnerability and empathy that the audience shares vicariously. All in the face of audible geopolitical forces.
When the curtain falls, the audience is left with an understanding of Iranian women’s resilience.
Sivan Battat’s deft direction strikes the right balance of freedom and containment. He illuminates the script, letting the vibrant five-member female cast roar.
Wish You Were Here runs through Nov. 1. For tickets, visit The Studio Theatre.
Gregory Ford is the Anacostia Coordinating Council Arts & Culture Critic. He is also an actor and singer. He is a member of Verbal Gymnastics Playback Theater troupe. He has written for Capital Community News and continues to write for dctheaterarts.org, focusing on College and University Theater Productions. He is a clinical psychodrama practitioner. Mr. Ford lives in Northeast Boundary in Ward 7.
