A Critical Study of Pardeh-Khaneh by Bahram Beyzaie Based on Jacques Rancière’s Theory of the Redistribution of the Sensible

One of the most important issues raised about art is its relationship with the real world. Plato condemned art. In his opinion, art was a mere imitation of the elements of the world, and because of this, it distanced the audience from the truth. In confronting this opinion, Aristotle considered art to be a spontaneous and compensated imitation which possesses the unique capacity to convey meaning through its structure, influencing the perception and emotions of its audience. Rancière criticizes these two ways of thinking about art, which he calls the Ethical and the Representational regime respectively, as he believes that they endorse the establishment and upholding of a hierarchical system in society that subordinates individuals according to their function and position, and thereby perpetuates the existing social order. He calls this system the distribution of the sensible. In his theory, he argues that conveying the message through artwork is not achievable, and that the effectiveness of art can only be achieved through a revolution in the sensible and redistribution of it which happens in the Aesthetic regime.The current research studies the play Pardeh-khaneh by Bahram Beyzaie as an example of a work that can not cannot be included in the framework of the aesthetic regime in a descriptive-analytical way and by referring to library data. Through the logic of consensus, this play divides its world into two separate and opposite groups, which can be seen as corresponding to the dualities of dominant/subjugated and good/bad. The members of each group are similar to each other, and are under the influence and control of a transcendental component in a pyramidal form. This play advances a single action based on a coherent plot and finally reaches a certain conclusion through which the playwright wants to convey a certain knowledge to his audience. Therefore, by refering to Rancière’s theory, this play is placed in the realm of representational regime.