“Cease idly repeating the traditions of the past,” proclaimed the 19th-century Persian poet Tahirih. That’s exactly what the collaborators in Erika Batdorf’s new play about the poet had to do while developing the production.
The company decided to incorporate prayer into the process of rehearsals – a practice cast members described as taboo in the theatre world. The actors, under Batdorf’s guidance, were seeking to connect with God, with themselves, and each other, in order to be able to channel the spirit of Tahirih through their performance.
Iris Turcott, Batdorf’s editor, emphasized that the play is about channelling, not inventing, that spirit. “We are trying to convey the power of the spirit,” she said. “It’s alive and tangible – not interpretation.”
The company was at the Toronto Baha’i Centre on May 12th to promote the play, now in the Luminato Festival, by introducing the actors, describing the uniquely sacred production process, and sharing a few samples of Persian singer Shohreh Haghiri’s music from the piece. The Luminato Festival is a major, international theatre and arts festival held in Toronto.
Batdorf said what interested her was creating a three-dimensional version of Tahirih’s poetry, rather than a literal telling of the story of her life, and as a result the play includes singing of her Persian poetry, as well as English translation and text, dance, and acting.
Tahirih was a poet who recognized Siyyid Ali-Muhammad, or the Báb (which means “Gate”) as the forerunner to Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Baha’i Faith, of which Batdorf is a practicing member. Tahirih was inspired with the courage to champion the equality of women and men, and as a result her history has largely been erased by the male-dominated Iranian society she lived in.
Batdorf described how on a trip to Indonesia to promote another play, the most commonly asked question by the women there was about Tahirih, and the search to find one’s voice. “This piece is my heart response to these women,” Batdorf said, implying Tahirih is a role model to anyone embarked on that quest.
Initially wanting to pay for the production costs and actors out of her own pocket, Batdorf said that while everyone has worked hard devoting untold hours to the piece, she feels forces beyond her control have led to the play’s current prominence. To her astonishment, the Luminato Festival took the unusual step of deciding to commission the development and production of the piece, which combines theatre, dance, music, poetry and song, with significant financial support.
The actors described the feeling of wholeness that came from incorporating prayer at the beginning of each rehearsal. “Faith is not often something you can share in your work,” said actress Marya Lowry, describing the experience of having a public, secular life and a private religious one that separates one’s faith and profession. Dancer, Kate Digby, talked about the need to courageously participate in changing the discourses of society by learning to bring one’s whole self into the work and artistic process.
Batdorf said the experience of praying together was not always “easy and lovely”, since the cast comes from diverse backgrounds including Christian, Catholic, Pentecostal, First Nations, and Baha’i. Yet the intimacy of the prayer sessions – no one was allowed to watch – and the frank discussions shared about their experiences each time have allowed the group to reach a common understanding of spiritual search beyond the particular words each uses to describe it. “The goal of unity was always primary,” Batdorf said.
The play is entitled One Pure Longing: Tahirih’s Search, after Tahirih’s designation “The Pure One”, and will be playing at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre June 11-14 at 8pm, with a matinee if the play sells out. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased here.
“Let deeds, not words, be your adorning,” Tahirih told a people fettered by past traditions over 100 years ago. Digby said materialism is one of those traditions that the cast shed by praying together. “We needed to do that too.”