Yūsif, Yūzif, Juzipah: Persian 2025

Yousef, Joseph, Giuseppe is a jinnography in the guise of a play; a jinnography about war, as told by the jinn-possessed. This play was born amidst the fanfare of reformism in Iran, on the ruins of the University of Tehran’s dormitory, only to be denied at once—its case closed within the mansion of the chocolate-colored cloak. Amidst the fury of dust and debris during the Green Movement, it was revived by devoted souls; yet its performance was banned at Molavi Hall, its case sealed in the nightmare of the Man with the Spring Jacket. In the fever of prudence and hope, it was picked up again through the efforts of another resilient crowd; but, deemed a threat for its dangerous content, the doors of City Theater were shut to it, its case once more closed under the shadow of the purple robe. And yet, Yousef, Joseph, Giuseppe—by some, in ways crooked or straight, on stages seen and unseen—was brought to life, so that today, far from home, it may rest upon the feast of paper, so that it may once again take flight… so that the case may remain open…