Drama and Adaptive Narration: The Suicide Theory

Despite a history of numerous dramatic adaptations in Iran, they have often failed to attract critics’ and audiences’ attention. Achieving a localised theoretical framework for adaptation is one way out of this impasse. The present paper begins with a pathology of adaptation in Iran, followed by a comparison between adaptation and translation in order toshow ways to borrow ideas from translation theories. Of special importance here is Shahnameh, because of its stance in our theatre. To conclude, the obstacles and conditions of adapting legends and ancient texts, posing a ‘theory of suicide’ according to which, a successful adaptation is more dependent on the adapter than the original source. Adaptation is not imitation, multiplication, change of medium, or respect the original, but is the creation of a work which, whilst keeping ties with the original, maximally distances from it. The suicide theory suggests the critical-aggressive seizing approach instead of adaptation. Seizing can aim at overthrowing every foundation of that which has granted a work some false, hollow identity; or further, a demythification of reference texts. Even if it does not achieve its goals, the suicide has a character and opens up new doors. This theory is an attempt to pose an applied approach for adapting ancient texts in the Iranina drama.