Translated material
In Iran, theater employees were arrested for staging Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (VIDEO)
Two theater employees were detained in Iran over a production of William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. The fact is that in the comedy, women dance next to men, which is prohibited by the laws of a Muslim country.
Director Mariam Kazemi and theater manager Saeed Assadi were detained on September 9 after publishing a video on the Internet showing work on the production, The Guardian reports, citing the Irna agency. Later, the court agreed to release the theater workers on bail of $24,000 each.
In a clip posted on social media, women dance with men. According to the laws of the Islamic Republic, it is forbidden for both sexes to dance in public at the same time or next to each other.
It is noteworthy that before the arrest of the director and manager, the play was shown on stage seven times. The comedy tells the story of the intertwined destinies of four lovers and is one of Shakespeare's most popular plays.
Im #Iran wurden gestern die Regisseurin des Theaterstücks "Ein Sommernachtstraum" (von #Shakespeare ) und der Manager des Theaters festgenommen, weil sich dieses Video vom Stück in sozialen Medien verbreitet hat. #Zensur #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/9KBM8XTp7n
— Omid Rezaee (@Omid6887) September 10, 2018
The police and judicial community have strict views regarding Western culture. In July, Iranian law enforcement officers detained an 18-year-old gymnast who posted a dance video on the Internet. In the videos, the girl dances in her own bedroom.
And in August, Iranian law enforcement officers arrested four boys and two girls who were teaching popular Latin American dance to those interested. At the same time, security forces stopped the youth party, detaining several dozen people.
In 2014, six young men and women were given suspended prison sentences in Iran after they appeared on video dancing to Pharrell Williams' song "Happy." Teenagers danced on the roofs of Tehran houses and the capital's streets.