Formulation of the Approaches of the Iranian Theater to the Concept of “Experimental Theater” During the 80s and 90s; 1984 - 2001

The term “experimental theater” emerged in the twentieth century based on European theater’s innovative productions. When the questions of European theater artists changed in terms of how they could impress the audience in different ways than “bourgie theater” does; thus new methods had to be developed. Renovating communication forms with the spectator resulted in new kinds of stage performances. The rejection of thematic and formal standards in theater led art critics and historians to suggest an “experimental” title close to the concept of “avant-garde” to understand and recognize such works. In the Iranian theater, however, this concept has been very controversial. Each group of Iranian theater practitioners has interpreted this term in terms of the examples they knew as the “experimental theater.” The primary purpose of this study is to clarify and present a formulation of the different approaches of Iranian theater agents to the category of “experimental theater” in the first two decades after the revolution. To achieve this goal, by researching theoretical ideas and practical aesthetics made by these ideas, we have found a specific pattern which illuminates approaches and inferences of the Iranian theater at the desired time. In this study, the concepts of Pierre Bourdieu, the French sociologist, have been used to clarify the logic of action (theoretical and practical) of Iranian theater agents to the concept concerned in this research. In this study, controversies over theater have also been analyzed; Topics like aesthetics of performance, audience’s perception, the hierarchy of director and playwright in production, and the social function of the theater have been argued here. The central idea of this study in examining the action of the “experimental artists” is the distinction they make between themselves and prevalent ones in the field. According to the actions of the agents of the Iranian theater field in the first tw o decades after the revolution, three approaches can be identified: 1) “ex p erimental theater” as a non-professional theater, 2) “experimental theater” as a theater of academics and theater students and 3) “experimental theater” as a method in opposition to conventional aesthetics.