Seda (and ArtsWest) Has Another Great Production

Cast of Wish You Were Here (John McLellan)

Wish You Were Here
Seda Iranian Theatre Ensemble and ArtsWest
Through July 5, 2026
 
Sometimes a production of a play smacks you in the face with the urgency of “now,” even though the play was written before current history – even years before. Such a play is being performed at ArtsWest in a co-production with Seda Iranian Theatre Ensemble. Wish You Were Here, written by Sanaz Toossi, focuses on five women who grow up together in Iran during crucial periods of Iranian history from 1978 to 1991.
 
Yet, there is no ignoring the present war the U.S. has engaged in and the complicity of our U.S. government’s history, as well, in creating the very foe we are fighting! It becomes clear that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
 
Written several years ago, planned for well ahead of February 2026, there’s no escaping the current war-of-choice and the interference, again, into Iran’s circumstances. The regime in place is there, largely, because this country made choices over 75 years ago!
 
The characters in the play are not political. They are alive in this country through these and other major changes around them. They have weddings and talk about pussies and cocks and whether their first night will hurt. They get to have careers or have them taken away by the closures of universities. They cope with edicts regarding wearing hijabs. They manage their relationships with each other.
 
The scenes are short in this 95-minute play. The ensemble of Nazanin (Ainaz Azarhoush), Salme (Newsha Farahani), Zari (Shereen Khatibloo), Shideh (Mahshad Zareeizadeh), Rana (Parmida Ziaei), and New Friend (Azadeh Zanjani) tease each other, celebrate, and mourn together.
 
Under Naghmeh Samini’s direction, the actors firmly grasp the individuation of each character, from warmly supportive, to naïve, to suspicious. Transition music provided by Meghan Roche is pleasing and aurally appropriate and the transitions between the nine scenes is kind of danced through uniquely.
 
Slight quibble: When we naturally converse, we often talk over each other. However, this production is not natural and the overlaps, plus the slight accents, can interfere with hearing what the characters are saying. Perhaps the full-steam-ahead presentation could slow down a bit so the audience doesn’t get left behind.
 
Seda is a company with a keen theatrical sense. When they do a production, you can be sure it’s carefully done and chosen, and they are now quickly selling out much of a run. You’ll need to hurry to get a seat to this run.

The play’s historical context:

• 1951-‘53 – Iran, moving toward democracy, nationalizes BP’s oil monopoly and in 1953, the CIA-backed Shah’s coup ensures oil is un-nationalized. U.S. pours billions of dollars into Iran to build Iran’s military to “police” the Middle East.
• February 1979 — Iran's U.S.-backed Shah flees and revolutionary forces seize control of Tehran.
• November 1979 – When the Shah is allowed medical treatment in the U.S., enraged students seize 52 Americans as hostages, beginning decades of hostilities. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini becomes the religious ruler and fearsome power.
• September 1980 — War erupts between Iran and Iraq due to tensions between Ayatollah Khomeini and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
• January 1981 — The 444-day hostage crisis ended when hostages were released after Ronald Reagan is elected and Iranian assets were unfrozen.
• April 1982 — Nearly two years after universities were closed across Iran, the Cultural Revolution continues to transform higher education. Thousands of professors and students have been removed, curricula rewritten, and new ideological screening measures introduced as the government seeks to align universities with the values of the Islamic Republic.
• July 1983 —Iran expands enforcement of mandatory Islamic dress laws for women, making the hijab one of the most visible symbols of the country's new social order.
• September 1984 — Iranian universities reopen after years of closure and academic programs have been revised with curricula reshaped to reflect the values of the Islamic Republic.
• April 1984 — Iranians vote for the first time in five years, with many opposition figures excluded from participation.
• November 1985 — As the war with Iraq enters its sixth year, growing numbers of Iranian physicians, engineers, academics, and students are leaving the country. The Iran-Contra scandal widen as revelations emerge that senior Reagan administration officials secretly facilitated arms sales to Iran despite publicly opposing the Islamic Republic.
• July 1987 — The United Nations adopts Resolution 598, calling for an immediate ceasefire in the seven-year Iran-Iraq War.
• August 1988 — Weeks after the end of the Iran-Iraq War, reports about mass executions ordered by the Ayatollah emerge, and many families connected to political prisoners remain uncertain about the fate of imprisoned relatives.
• June 1989 — Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini dies at age 86.
• June 1990 —Northern Iran has been struck by a devastating earthquake, causing widespread destruction. Entire villages have been flattened, and tens of thousands are feared dead or injured.
• October 1991 — For millions of young people, memories of the monarchy are distant or entirely absent. Their lives have been shaped instead by wartime sacrifice, religious governance, economic hardship, and the institutions created by the Islamic Republic.

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