Edgy new play spotlights death row teens in Iran

The curtain opens. Six nooses hang above a group of teenage inmates, who are making chairs in a prison workshop to be used as platforms in their own hangings. The audience gasps.

This is theater that's raw, edgy and political — and it's all been cleared by the Iranian authorities, even though they have tightened controls on speech.

The production, translated from Farsi as "The Blue Feeling of Death," opened last month as a showcase of activist art against Iran's legal codes that allow death sentences for juvenile offenders — who then wait until their 18th birthday for execution.

Opening night came even as Iranian officials tightened controls on social media and other forms of political opposition ahead of last month's presidential elections, whose centrist winner, Hassan Rohani, has brought hope of reversing some of the crackdowns.

The play tells the true stories of seven juvenile death row inmates and the families on all sides of their crimes. It also seeks to raise funds for defense lawyers and social workers trying to overturn death sentences on young people through Iran's system that allows families of victims to spare the life of the prisoner.

"Through the stage, we can affect many people — even the families of victims," said the play's director, Amin Miri, following a recent performance. "We are trying to give greater courage."

The play also shows the unpredictable enforcement of Iran's cultural overseers.

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Source: AP