TEHRAN — Three new stage productions ranging from children’s puppetry to digital theater and absurdist comedy are opening in Tehran this week, highlighting the diversity of Iran’s contemporary performing arts scene.
Returning for a new run after a successful staging at Honar Hall, The Cherry Tree, directed by Sharareh Tayyar, will be performed at Mehr Theater at the Art Bureau from July 29 to Aug. 7. The live-puppetry production, recreated for the Omid Theater House, uses allegory to introduce young audiences to themes of justice, courage and resistance to oppression.
Adapted from Claire Jobert’s children’s book Why? Why? Why?, published by Mehrak Publications, the play draws inspiration from the life of Imam Hussein (AS) and the events of Ashura, presenting their moral lessons through the story of a flourishing tree whose bird inhabitants unite against an oppressive woodpecker. The production is co-written by Tayyar and Muhammad Hussein Habibi.
Also opening this week is The Banquet of the Butterfly King, a new digital theater production written by Sina Salimi and directed by Amirhossein Sorkhian. The play begins performances on July 28 at Mehregan Theater House, where it will be staged nightly.
Combining multimedia elements with live performance, the production explores the blurred boundaries between reality and the digital world. Its story centers on a series of choices
 that carry increasingly significant consequences, inviting audiences into an immersive theatrical experience that departs from conventional stage formats.
Meanwhile, Meyyet (The Deceased), written, directed by and starring Sepehr Vaezian, opens at Mehregan Theater House on July 29 for a run through Aug. 11.
Described as an absurdist black comedy, the play follows a man who has recently been buried but remains convinced that he is still alive. Inside his grave, he encounters two worms tasked with decomposing his body. Their conversations become a vehicle for examining mortality, memory, judgment, forgetting and the meaning of life.
Blending dark humor with philosophical reflection, the production offers a critical yet humane look at contemporary attitudes toward death and human relationships. Vaezian performs alongside Majid Narmani and Muhammadmehdi Mansouri-Mehr.