Jean Wilkey

Tahereh and Jamshid

A One-Act Play

by SANDRA LYNN HUTCHISON

Cast of Characters

Hedieh: A student in the Bahá’í Institute of Higher Education (BIHE) who majors in English and theatre arts. An aspiring playwright

Baharieh: A student majoring in English Language Studies in the BIHE

Shirin: A student majoring in English Language Studies in the BIHE

Bashir: A student majoring in English Language Studies in the BIHE

Soroush: A student majoring in English Language Studies in the BIHE

Saba: Hedieh’s younger sister

First Officer: An officer from the Ministry of Intelligence

Second Officer: An officer from the Ministry of Intelligence

The Chorus: Hedieh, Baharieh, Shirin

Scene

The city of Shiraz, Iran

Time

May 2024

PROLOGUE

AT RISE:

HEDIEH

In the city of the poets, on streets paved with words,
You laid yourself down at the feet of your Lord.

Sour orange trees in bloom, cherry blossoms in the hair
of ten women who hastened to meet their Lord.

On that night, the poets sang in their tombs,
In praise of the lovers who greeted their Lord.

In the rain of late spring, the winds of mid-June
Cyprus and date palm bowed down to their Lord.

Forty springs have passed and their story is still told,
How they laid themselves down at the feet of their Lord.

SHIRIN

I opened the door to the temple of remembrance,
found no floor, only grass and sky for remembrance,

The place stood deserted, no celebrants had come,
Just a pair of doves cooed, for remembrance....

Parsley, wild leek would not grow in that earth,
But rosemary bloomed, for remembrance.

So I took my cup and filled it with prayers
Then drank these words, for remembrance,

When the wine cup shatters, fall on your knees --
The crimson ink is always best for remembrance!

BAHARIEH

Spring comes to Shiraz, the scent of oranges fills air,
In the Eram Garden, the wind remembers your hair.

If you had lived, you’d be grandparents by now
May these words be gol e narges in your hair.

You were a rose wilting in a bitter sun,
Now the scent of rosewater clings to your hair.

The lote tree grows tall under western skies,
May you dream in its shade, stars in your hair.

Rest Tahereh, Jamshid, wherever you may lie,
When heaven breathes, the wind remembers your hair...

THE CHORUS

(Hedieh, Shirin, and Baharieh rip off their face masks, cast off their hijabs and chadors and recite the following words in unison.)

Ten households in this fair city, Shiraz,
still grieve each June the ten lives lost,
ended that night in Chowgan Square,
Not to deny their faith, the high cost

of martyrdom was theirs. Waiting
in a line, one by one, to die
for apostasy, for being a Bahá’í,
to hang together, for their so-called crime,

Among them was young Tahereh,
who yearned to follow her love
Jamshid to where he already lay
in an unmarked grave,

And so our brief play will speak
of the greater love that would suffice
to enable these lovers to meet
in a world beyond this earthly life.

ACT 1

Scene 1

SETTING:

(We hear a loud pounding on the door of the family home where Hedieh lives.)

FIRST OFFICER

Is one of you Hedieh Azadeh? We have come for Hedieh Azadeh!

SECOND OFFICER

Look at this! (He points to a picture of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá). An old man with a long white beard -- picture of the devil! (We hear the sound of glass smashing as he throws the picture on the floor.) Infidels! Check the drawers! Bag those books! Look in the waste basket too. Who knows where these Bahá’ís hide their secret papers.

(Sounds of books being thrown on the floor. Rustling of papers.)

FIRST OFFICER

Hedieh, we are placing you under arrest. You must come with us.

(Hedieh draws back, away from the officers and toward her sister.)

FIRST OFFICER

Now!

(He and the second officer stride across the room and grab Hedieh by either arm.)

SABA

Please don’t take her! I beg you!

(Saba rushes to Hedieh and grabs her arms. Officer pushes Saba so hard she falls on the floor.)

FIRST OFFICER

Let’s go!

HEDIEH

Can I at least pack some things?

SECOND OFFICER

Zionist spies don’t have such privileges.

HEDIEH

What about calling my parents?

FIRST OFFICER

Get moving! Let’s go! (The officers leave the stage with Hedieh. Saba, who is weeping softly, gets out her cell phone and calls her parents to tell them that Hedieh has been arrested.)

SABA

Baba, Maman, they’ve taken her -- Hedieh! She’s gone!
(Pause.) I don’t know where. (Saba continues to sob.) Oh Hedieh, Hedieh....

Scene 2

(Hedieh’s classmates and fellow performers open the door of her uncle’s house and seat themselves in his living room.)

BAHARIEH

I suppose you’ve all heard the news?

BASHIR

What news?

SHIRIN

You mean you don’t know?... Hedieh’s been arrested!

SOROUSH

What? I just saw her last night. After rehearsal, we walked home together. We even talked a while outside her house. The moon was out and we could hear a bird singing so beautifully -- a nightingale, I think it was... Neither of us knew for sure, but we listened and….

BAHARIEH

Soroush stop! Hedieh has been arrested!

SOROUSH

I know, I know... I can’t believe it.

BASHIR

Do we know where they’ve taken her?

BAHARIEH

No, no news. None at all. I guess they’re trying to shut us down. I was just lucky that her sister remembered where Hedieh kept the key to this house. Otherwise, they’d have stopped us completely. No key. No rehearsal.

BASHIR

You think they arrested her because of our play?

BAHARIEH

I wouldn’t put it past them. In their eyes, even a play is treason against the state!

SOROUSH

Speaking of the play, do we have any idea when Hedieh will be released? She does play the main character, you know... And she has the only copy of our script.

SOROUSH

Soroush, stay focused. We need to think about what we can do for Hedieh before we can talk about the play.

BASHIR

But is there anything we can do?

SHIRIN

Other than pray, you mean?

BASHIR

Yes, other than pray....

SHIRIN

I just can’t believe it. I’m devastated. Hedieh is like a sister to me.

BAHARIEH

You think you feel bad, I’ve been with Hedieh since we were six years old in Debastan, Shirin!

BASHIR

Well, if it’s a contest, I was in creche with her, and our parents took us to Bahá’í events together when we were babies! But listen, that’s not the point. Look, it’s natural -- we’re all upset. Let’s face it: we can’t do anything for Hedieh -- at least not now. And we do need to do something about the play. There are only four weeks until the performance -- and now we don’t even have a script!

SOROUSH

I agree. Yes, we can pray -- we can always do that. We should do that. But listen, we need to go on with the play. Hedieh would want us to.... The play’s the thing.... Why don’t we chant some prayers for Hedieh then rehearse as usual?

SHIRIN

You’re right, Soroush. You know, last night, after rehearsal, Hedieh told me she thought it would be healing to do the play.

BASHIR

I agree. We need to go on with the play, no matter what. We can go to Hedieh’s house to get the script and then to the Ministry of Intelligence to try and get some news.

BAHARIEH

There’s only one problem, Bashir. The script will have been confiscated by now. I am sure of it. Besides, Hedieh is the one who plays Mona. She knows her part and the rest of us don’t! I don’t see how we can continue with the play... That is, unless you would be willing to play Mona, Shirin....

SHIRIN

No, no! You should be the one to play Mona, Baharieh. I really don’t feel worthy....

BAHARIEH

You don’t need to feel worthy, Shirin. This is a play.

SHIRIN

But playing someone who was a martyr for her faith -- for me, it just doesn’t feel right.... Besides, I don’t remember what Mona’s supposed to say!

BASHIR

Okay, okay. Listen, I’ve got an idea. We are doing this play to commemorate the ten Bahá’í women of Shiraz, right -- those ten courageous souls who gave their lives for their beliefs?

SOROUSH

(In a questioning tone): Right... but...

BAHARIEH

And so...?

BASHIR

Well, we can do a play about any of the women. I think we should start again. Anyway, we didn’t get very far with the old play -- we had barely one act.

SOROUSH

Okay, okay... I think I’ve got it!

BASHIR

What?

SOROUSH

It -- the thing we should do!

BASHIR

So, what should we do?

SOROUSH

We should write about them.

BAHARIEH

Who?

SOROUSH

The two of them. You know, everything is best in twos -- there’s Layli and Majnun... and...

BASHIR

Okay, okay, get to the point, Soroush!

BAHARIEH

Maybe what’s he’s saying, Bashir, is that we shouldn’t focus on just one person. What I think Soroush is saying is that we can tell the story of two of the women -- together. Maybe a pair of friends? Or maybe Izzat Janami, and her daughter Roya -- my mother knew Izzat. They used to sew together...

SHIRIN

No, I don’t think that is who Soroush is thinking, is it Soroush?

SOROUSH

You’re right, Shirin. I’m thinking of the married couple -- Tahereh and Jamshid. Theirs is a story of eternal love...

SHIRIN

(Whispering): Eternal... Love...

SOROUSH

It’s Khosrow and Shirin, Romeo and Juliet. It’s every pair of great lovers anyone has ever known -- and more!

SHIRIN

Yes, eternal love... a love that triumphs over death! A cause so great...
(Shirin begins to hum the theme song of the Women, Life, Freedom movement.)

BAHARIEH

Just a minute everyone! Let’s remember who are talking about here -- Tahereh Arjomanadi and Jamshid Siyavashi -- two Bahá’ís who were executed because they refused to deny their faith and say they were Muslims!

SHIRIN

Yes, faithful to the bitter end....

SOROUSH

But was it bitter for them? Their end, I mean....

BASHIR

Exactly! How can we understand what it was like for them?

SHIRIN

They were married... and in love...

BAHARIEH

Yes, and soon to die...

BASHIR

This is going to require some thought...

SOROUSH

I am going to read Romeo and Juliet again. Maybe even Khosrow and Shirin -- if I can get through the whole poem in one night. After all, it is 6500 distich’s long...

BAHARIEH

There’s no time for that. Bashir’s right: we need to come up with a play -- and soon. Let’s chant a prayer for Hedieh’s release then go to her house to see if there is any news. And tomorrow, we need to begin again -- with a new play!

BASHIR

Agreed.

SOROUSH AND SHIRIN

Agreed.

(The five youth sit together in a circle, hold hands, and Shirin, in a very sweet voice, begins to chant a Bahá’í prayer...)

The complete play, Tahereh and Jamshid: A Love Story is available through elixirpublishing@gmail.com

Copyright © 2024
by Sandra Lynn Hutchison