The analysis of the formation of the New Wave subfield in the Iranian theatre during the 1950s and 1960s

This paper is focused on the method of finding the structure of the field of the new Iranian theater and the emergence of its different artistic poles and its subfields. The new Iranian theatre which came into existence in the 13th century was clearly distinct from the traditional-local Iranian forms of performance. This new field was established according to the western dramatic norms, and experienced the emergence of some other subfields, based on its internal contradictions. The not-so-long history of the Iranian theatre shows that to what extent did the agents of this new form of art tried to describe and explain the assets of theatre in the society by writing articles, notes and letters, along with performing several important theatrical pieces. The Iranian New Wave theatre emerged as a subfield of theatre in the 1950s and 1960s, as a result of the changes in the distribution of the social capital and the changes in the habitus of its agents, those who sought some innovations in the current styles and forms of the Iranian theatre. One of the clear results of the New Wave in the Iranian theatre manifested itself in the form of “Kargah-e Namayesh” (theatre workshop) which was active between 1969-1978. This workshop was itself a result of the internal conflicts in the new Iranian theatre between the years 1857-1978. The major questions of this article deal with the type of the activities of the agents of Kargah-e Namesh, their status and beliefs in their society, the types of their capitals and habitus as well as the relation of these people with the political system of their time. In other words, this article tries to clarify the relation of Kargah-e Namayesh with the heritage of the new Iranian theater on one hand, and with the political system of its society on the other. Theoretically, this paper is based on the theory of social action presented by Pierre Bourdieu.