Mostafa Abdollahi

Mostafa Abdollahi (1955-2015) was a seminal Iranian stage and film actor, theater director, voice artist and theater instructor. He was widely recognized as an outstanding actor and the many productions that he directed provided him with a reputation as one of the leading theater directors in Iran. In 1979, he was admitted to the dramatic arts faculty of Tehran to start his education in the directing and acting program.

Mostafa Abdollahi
Born1955/03/22
Borujerd, Iran
Died2015/05/21
Tehran, Iran
NationalityIranian
EducationDramatic Arts Faculty of Tehran
OccupationActor, Theater Director, Voice Artist, Theater Instructor
Years active1970-2015
Spouse(s)Nahid Roozbahani
ChildrenPouya, Hooman
AwardsBest Actor from the 12th, 22nd, and 28th Fadjr International Theater Festivals

Special Award from World Theater Day Celebration

Iran Ordibehesht-e-Theatre Order

Best Actor Award from the First Monologue Festival of IRIB

Abdollahi established the Koocheh (meaning alley in English) theater group in his birthplace in 1970. During 46 years of activity, he staged numerous plays both as an actor and as a director. He also acted in many movies, TV theaters, Radio dramas, and TV series.

His artistic activities include acting and directing in 62 theater productions, directing several TV theaters and short films, directing and voice acting in more than 500 radio plays, and playing in famous TV series like Heroes Never Die, Lighter Than Darkness, and Zero Degree Turn. Abdollahi is also the recipient of many awards for various artistic activities.

Biography

Born in 1955 in the city of Borujerd, Abdollahi passed his childhood and teenage years in his birthplace. As he said: "I was registered in Bahman school of Borujerd". He established Koocheh theater group in 1970. Koocheh theater, which was the first scientific and organized theater in Borujerd, announced its existence by performing the Farmer of Chicago by Mark Twain. Activity of Koocheh theater group in borujerd lasted until 1979. During 9 years, the members of Koocheh theater group performed 17 plays from famous Iranian and western playwrights such as Bahram Beyzai, Athol Fugard, William Shakespeare, Gholam-Hossein Sa'edi, and Augusta, Lady Gregory.

After starting his studies at the Dramatic Arts Faculty of Tehran, Abdollahi was selected to play a small role in a play titled Enemies written by Maxim Gorky and directed by maestro Rokneddin Khosravi. Within the rehearsal sessions, his virtuosity and endeavor caused Khosravi to choose him for Zakarov role, which is one of the leading roles in Enemies. This play, however, was not performed because of the so-called cultural revolution and its sequences in Iran. Iranian cultural revolution caused universities to be closed, therefore Abdollahi voluntarily went to Kerman province to help earthquake-stricken people and collaborated in rebuilding damaged towns. Because of universities reopening in Iran by the end of the cultural revolution, he came back to Tehran and prepared Sizwe Banzi is dead as the graduation thesis of his classmate Majid Beheshti. His brilliant performance attracted Hamid Samandarian's and Ghotbeddin Sadeghi's attentions who were two outstanding directors in Iran.

Abdollahi was one the first artists invited to join Honar theater group which was established by Ghotbeddin Sadeghi. He collaborated with Honar theater group as the director and actor in more than 25 plays. During 90's, the acting duo Mostafa Abdollahi and Michael Shahrestani was very famous and admirable in the Iran theater.

Many people know Abdollahi for his playing the role of an Iranian hero named Arsalan in the Heroes Never Die TV series. Abdollahi started his acting in Iran television since 1986. He also participated in several movies such as Living with the presence of a wall, Eye witness, and Mah-banoo. Moreover, Abdollahi had many successful experiences in acting and directing dramas for Iran national radio and television. By and large, he was recognized as a prominent artist in Iran and as Ghotbeddin Sadeghi said: "He never staged dull and useless plays, which are far from the culture of his homeland and he had faith in what he did on stage".[1]

Having a critical approach towards the domestic affairs in Iran, Mostafa Abdollahi profoundly tried to introduce salient western playwrights to the Iranian society. For Instance, he was the first Iranian producer who directed a play by Pavel Kohout titled War on the third floor. Abdollahi also introduced famous Russian writer Nikolai Erdman to Iranian audience by staging The mandate. After performing Accidental death of an anarchist[2], a play written by Dari Fo, Koocheh theater group founded by Abdollahi was recognized the best theater group in Iran in 2013. While having his last play, The lower depths written by Maxim Gorky, on the stage of the main hall of the Tehran City Theater Complex, he passed away in Tehran on 21 May 2015 after 14 years of suffering from blood cancer.[1][3]

During 46 years of artistic activity, Abdollahi received numerous awards from various festivals and was paid tributes by his colleague and also Iranian universities.

Works
Theater works
Title Director Abdollahi's Profession(s) Place Year
The farmer of Chicago Mostafa Abdollahi Director Cities of Lorestan Province 1970
He was not a stranger Naser Hosseinpor Actor Cities of Lorestan Province 1971
The master and brokers Naser Hosseinpor Actor Cities of Lorestan Province 1972
The haunt Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Cities of Lorestan Province 1973
The golden viper Mostafa Abdollahi Actor Cities of Lorestan Province 1973
Ya'qūb-i Layth-i Saffārī Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Cities of Lorestan Province 1974
Capital A, small a Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Cities of Lorestan & Hamedan Provinces 1974
Journey Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Cities of Lorestan Province 1975
White horse Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Cities of Lorestan & Hamedan Provinces 1975
Bastards' dream Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Cities of Lorestan Province 1976
The Rising of the Moon Abdolreza Bayatuni Actor Cities of Lorestan & Hamedan Provinces 1977
A donkey with a load of salt Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Cities of Lorestan & Hamedan Provinces 1977
Eye for an eye Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Cities of Lorestan & Hamedan Provinces 1978
Siavosh on the wind Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Cities of Lorestan & Hamedan Provinces 1978
My death doesn't need an elegy Reza Arab pour Actor Cities of Lorestan & Hamedan Provinces 1979
Tarkhoon Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Cities of Lorestan & Hamedan Provinces 1979
The banquet Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Cities of Khoozestan Province 1980
Sizwe Banzi is dead Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Cities of Lorestan Province 1980
Sizwe Banzi is dead Majid Beheshti Actor Tehran 1986
The inspector general Majid Beheshti Actor Main Hall-City Theater of Tehran 1987
Ivanov Mohammad Por Hassan Actor Roudaki Hall 1987
Medea Ghotbeddin Sadeghi Actor Cheharsoo Hall-City Theater of Tehran 1988
Room No.13 Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Molavi Hall 1989
Escorial Hamid Reza Afshar Actor Molavi Hall 1990
Tragedy of Siavosh Sadegh Hatefi Actor Paris, London, Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne, Ftankfurt 1990
Adam's story Hossein Farokhi Actor Roudaki Hall- Tehran 1991
Eqlima Mahmood Azizi Actor Main Hall-City Theater of Tehran 1991
The Last Esfandiyar Sadegh Hatefi Actor Théâtre de Paris-

Cheharsoo Hall-City Theater of Tehran

 1992
Romance with bare feet Sadegh Hatefi Actor Paris Art hall 1992
With night till morning Mostafa Abdollahi Director Molavi Hall- Tehran 1992
No poem can describe your loneliness Dariush Rezvani Actor Performance Hall- Tehran 1993
Epic of recluse Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Tajikistan

Turkmenistan

 1993
ُُThe boar tooth Sadegh Hatefi Actor Sangelaj Theater 1993
The wise man and the crazy tiger Ghotbeddin Sadeghi Actor World Festival of Puppet Theaters-Charleville-mézières

Bahman Cultural Center- Tehran

 1993
Bahram Chobin Ghotbeddin Sadeghi Actor Main Hall-City Theater of Tehran 1994
Kaboodan & Esfandyar Hamid Reza Afshar Actor Molavi Hall- Tehran 1995
Rostam's Seven Labours Ghotbeddin Sadeghi Actor Sa'dabad Complex- Tehran

Tomb of Ferdowsi- Tus

 1995
The Hairy Ape Akbar Zanjanpour Actor Main Hall-City Theater of Tehran 1997
Women of Sabra, Men of Shatila Ghotbeddin Sadeghi Actor Roudaki Hall- Tehran 1998
Crime and Punishment Michael Shahrestani Actor Main Hall-City Theater of Tehran 1998
Arash Ghotbeddin Sadeghi Actor Cheharsoo Hall-City Theater of Tehran 1999
Calligraphy of Love Ghotbeddin Sadeghi Actor Cheharsoo Hall-City Theater of Tehran 2000
Seven lost tribes Ghotbeddin Sadeghi Actor Cheharsoo Hall-City Theater of Tehran 2001
The luminous garden Hadi Marzban Actor Main Hall-City Theater of Tehran 2001
Poor Bitos Hamid Mozaffari Actor Main Hall-City Theater of Tehran 2002
Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role Hadi Marzban Actor Main Hall-City Theater of Tehran 2002
East of kiss Mostafa Abdollahi Director Hall no.2- City Theater of Tehran 2004
Finale of Writing Mohammad Asadi Actor Theater house- Tehran 2005
3 scenes Abbas Shadravan Actor Hall no.2- City Theater of Tehran 2006
Scarlet nightmare Mostafa Abdollahi Director Qashqai Hall- City Theater of Tehran 2006
War on the third floor Mostafa Abdollahi Director Qashqai Hall- City Theater of Tehran 2007
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Shahin Alizadeh Actor University of Tehran 2008
Memoirs of Zariran Ghotbeddin Sadeghi Actor Cheharsoo Hall-City Theater of Tehran 2008
From behind the gelsses Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Sangelaj Theater 2009
Shekar Pareh's Garden Ghotbeddin Sadeghi Actor Main Hall-City Theater of Tehran 2009
Tragedy of Siavosh Siavosh Tahmoreth Actor Cheharsoo Hall-City Theater of Tehran 2010
Dozd-Ab Hadi Marzban Actor Roudaki Hall- Tehran

Iranshahr Theater- Tehran

 2011
The mandate Mostafa Abdollahi Director Azadi Tower Hall- Tehran 2012
If you had not gone Ghotbeddin Sadeghi Actor Cheharsoo Hall-City Theater of Tehran 2012
A plethora of nobody Mostafa Abdollahi Director & actor Azadi Tower Hall- Tehran 2012
Accidental death of an anarchist Mostafa Abdollahi Director Cheharsoo Hall-City Theater of Tehran 2013
The Lower Depths Mostafa Abdollahi Director Iranshahr Theater- Tehran

Main Hall-City Theater of Tehran

 2015
TV Series
Title Director Year
Ogkor begher Majid Beheshti 1986
Roots in the Soil Majid Beheshti 1987
A window to the garden Hossein Marvi 1990
In a dilemma Majid Beheshti 1994
The seventh leader Reza Shalchi 1995
Woven of grief Majid Beheshti 1996
Heroes Never die Hassan Fathi 1997
Day time show Sadegh Hatefi 1998
Lighter than darkness Hassan Fathi 1999
Smell of soil Ali Biabani 2000
Damoon alley Abbas Ranjbar 2001
The ash & the wind Jahanbakhsh Lak 2002
Zero degree turn Hassan Fathi 2006
Sar gashteh M.H. Haqiqi 2010
The Enigma of the Shah Mohamad Reza Varzi 2014
Films
Title Director Year
The Bottleneck Ali Naqilou 1988
The Earthquack Majid Beheshti 1989
Ebrahim's life 1991
Eye witness Jahanbakhsh Lak 2000
The silent star M. Shah Mohamadi 2001
Mah Banoo Majid Beheshti 2001
Disturbed conscience Manoochehr Hadi 2008
Unarmed Manoochehr Hadi 2009
Living with the presence of a wall Michael Shahrestani 2013
Bi Godar Jahanbakhsh Lak 2014
Television Theater
Title Director Abdollahi's profession Year
Tale-e-Eshgh Korosh Narimani Actor 1990
Historical tableau Mostafa Abdollahi Director 1996
The Last Role Siamak Safari Actor 2005
The party of predators Rashid Behnam Actor 2006

Awards and Honors
Awards & Honors
Award Place Year
Special Order of Tehran City Theater Tehran 2015
Ordibehest-e-Theatre Iran Order Tehran 2014
Honored for 50 years of artistic activity K. N. Toosi University of Technology- Tehran 2014
Best Iran's Theater Group Kermanshah 2013
Best Actor from the 7th Razavi International Theater Festival Tehran 2011
Best actor from the 28th Fajr International Theater Festival Tehran 2010
Best actor from the 5th Monologue festival of IRIB Dramatic Art Center Tehran 2009
Special award from World Theater day Celebration[4] Tehran 2009
Lifetime achievement for artistic activities by The Society of Iranian Calligraphists Tehran 2008
Best Director from the 2nd Ashorai Theater Festival Tehran 2006
Awarded in the 5th Radio Drama Festival of IRIB Ziba Kener 2004
Best actor from the 22nd Fajr International Theater Festival Tehran 2004
Honored for years of endeavor and endurance for promoting Iran's art and culture by Iran minister of cultural affairs Ahmad Masjed-Jamei Tehran 2002
Best Actor From 12th Fajr International Theater Festival Tehran 1994
  • Playing paddy in The Hairy Ape, Main Hall of the City Theater of Tehran, 1997
  • Mostafa Abdollahi at Radio Drama, Tehran
  • Rehearsal session of Shekar Pareh's Garden with Qotbeddin Sadeghi and Sa'adi Afshar
gollark: Point antenna at them, watch as they constantly complain, tell them it wasn't turned on?
gollark: And one of the jailbreaks for it (now outdated) could be triggered just by opening a page in the browser, worryingly.
gollark: The kindle I have seems to run (some form of) Linux, on which everything runs as root.
gollark: I have one of the actual e-ink kindles. They're quite cool, though horribly insecure.
gollark: Base 3 forever!

References
  1. "Star of "Heroes Never Die" Mostafa Abdollahi dies at 60". 23 May 2015.
  2. "Accidental death of an anarchist directed by Mostafa Abdollahi".
  3. "A synopsis and analysis of The Lower Depths".
  4. "Iran's theater celebration honors actors".
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