Iranian shadow play on show in Beijing

World
Europe

02:53

Shadow play is an ancient art form that originated in China and is popular in Asian countries. Now an Iranian visual artist has brought “Feathers of Fire: A Persian Epic” to Beijing's Tianqiao Performing Arts Center.

Combining puppetry, history and digital animation, the show claims to be the largest shadow play ever performed.

A captivating shadow play inspired by the 10th-century classic Persian epic Shahnameh, "Feathers of Fire: A Persian Epic" tells the legend of Zaul and Rudabeh, two star-crossed lovers of old Persia.

Zaul is raised by a mythical bird in the wild. His deep love for Rudabeh enables them both to triumph at the end against all odds.

The show employs eight actors, 160 puppets, 15 masks and costumes and 158 animated backgrounds -- all of which come to life in a “live animation” on a cinema-size screen.

"The mask and the costumes are a little bit heavy. And you are looking at the screen kind of from the corner of your eyes, so you have to figure out what works with the mask," said Iranian actress Rose Nisker.

This show was created and directed by award-winning filmmaker Hamid Rahmanian, who was born and educated in Iran.

To make the story connect to a global audience, he has employed a lot of elements that are familiar to people across the world.

"It has a lot of familiar elements like the Jungle Book. These are the elements that people can relate to, and not far away from what they already heard in their culture," said director Hamid Rahmanian.

Since its debut in New York in 2016, the show has been performed to sold-out crowds in cities including San Francisco, Chicago and Toronto.

Hamid said he wants to introduce Persian culture to the world through this show.

"I want to create a better view of Iranian and Islamic art, something more positive. Because everything in the news especially in the West is negative about Iran. So I want to create something about the strength of our culture, literature and visual tradition," said director Hamid Rahmanian.

"Feathers of Fire" runs through Sunday at Beijing's Tianqiao Performing Arts Center.