TEHRAN -- At Tehran’s Nofel Loshato Theater House, a bold and varied season is currently underway. Five productions are running in repertory, each occupying a different temporal, intellectual, and emotional register. 

What unites them is an appetite for experimentation and a rejection of theatrical comfort. These are not plays that seek applause; they demand engagement.

 

The Cow of Fate

Dir. Meysam Nikkhah

Opening the evening program is The Cow of Fate, an abstract and evocative piece created, directed, and co-performed by Meysam Nikkhah. A two-hander with actor Mahsa Ahmadpour, the play operates in the surreal mode, with hints of Beckett and a distinctly Iranian existentialism. 

A character describes their horns—“not of bone, but of dream”—and the audience is invited into a space where the line between physical and psychic confinement collapses. The minimalist design allows the poeticism of the text to breathe, while silence functions as its own character. Walls speak, mouths do not. It’s a meditation on powerlessness and memory, rendered with stark elegance.

 

Dialectic

Writer & Director: Rahman Khoobzadeh

Philosophy becomes drama in Dialectic, a rigorous 60-minute piece directed by its writer Rahman Khoobzadeh. The premise is simple: two intellects locked in dialogue, not to win, but to illuminate. 

Performed with a quartet of actors (including Khoobzadeh himself), the piece is spare in staging but rich in tension. It is a cerebral work—more essay than play at times—but executed with conviction. The audience, positioned as silent interlocutors, is left to sift through questions of reason, ethics, and epistemological doubt. Demanding, yes. But rewarding for those who meet it on its own terms.

 

Naria 2

Writer: Kiyavash Zare’talab | Dir. Hussein Ferdowsi

If The Cow of Fate whispers, Naria 2 shouts. A sprawling ensemble piece featuring over 30 performers, Ferdowsi’s production plunges its characters—and the audience—into a frenetic urban nightmare. 

Set in a city metro system that becomes increasingly allegorical, the play explores themes of entrapment, surveillance, and collective amnesia. Movement is tightly choreographed, but the chaos feels intentional. There’s a raw, unpolished energy to the piece that aligns with its critique of modern inertia. At 75 minutes, it occasionally overreaches, but its ambition and theatrical risk-taking are undeniable.

 

Hippocampus: A Philosophical Comedy

Writer: Omid Taheri | Dir. Meysam Abdi

The standout of the season in terms of tonal balance is Hippocampus: A Philosophical Comedy. Abdi’s direction finds the delicate midpoint between absurdism and sincerity. The structure is episodic—sketches of memory, identity, and intellectual pretension—all filtered through the concept of the hippocampus as the brain’s centre of recall. Performances are sharp, especially from lead Mansour Eskandari, who anchors the play’s shifting moods with dry wit and aching vulnerability. It’s intelligent, funny, and unexpectedly moving.

 

MehrAra

Writers: Dania Ghaffari & Mahdieh Safari | Dir. Danial Ghaffari

Rounding out the lineup is MehrAra, a quieter, emotionally charged chamber piece. It’s a story of a lost person returned—or perhaps never lost at all. Ghaffari’s direction leans into minimalism, letting the performances carry the emotional weight. The cast is strong across the board, with Mahshid Goudarzi delivering a standout turn. The narrative is subtle, built on suggestion rather than revelation, and the result is a play that lingers long after its final moment.

In summary, Noufel Loshato has positioned itself as a haven for contemporary, risk-taking Iranian theatre. This season’s offerings are testament to a vibrant, restless scene unafraid to challenge form or audience. While not every piece lands with equal force, the cumulative impact is striking: here is a theatre not content with imitation or nostalgia, but actively forging a language of its own.

For those in Tehran—or those following the evolution of theatre in the region—Noufel Loshato deserves close attention. It’s not just staging plays. It’s staging questions.

For ticket purchases and more information, theatre enthusiasts are encouraged to visit the Tiwall website.