Autumn Sonata

Autumn Sonata

2017

Public Performance – Samandarian Hall, Iranshahr Theater Complex

May 2017

Tehrani’s stage adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata was developed over two and a half months of rehearsal. In adapting the screenplay for the stage, he eliminated two characters, redistributing their dialogue among the two remaining performers and fundamentally reconfiguring the dramatic structure while preserving the work’s emotional and philosophical core. The production was defined by an aesthetic of radical theatrical minimalism. Scenic design, props, lighting, and expressive variation were all reduced to their essential elements. The two actors performed in rehearsal clothes, relying on the barest minimum of physical movement and  emotional display to carry the dramatic action. Through this deliberate economy of theatrical means, the production shifted the audience’s attention away from spectacle and toward the precision of performance, language, and human presence, demonstrating Tehrani’s continuing exploration of reduction as a powerful dramaturgical strategy.