Four Boxes (Chahār Sanduq)

VIVA Alliance presents a reading of Four Boxes (Chahār Sanduq): by the influential Iranian playwright and filmmaker Bahram Beyzaei.

Written in 1967, Four Boxes (Chahār Sanduq) remains one of Beyzaei’s most incisive allegorical works. Structured as a theatrical parable, the play examines the formation of collective identity and the mechanisms through which authority and ideology shape social divisions. Within the narrative, four groups of people are assigned four boxes marked by different colors. What begins as a simple designation gradually evolves into a system of separation, revealing how easily symbolic distinctions can transform into structures of rivalry, suspicion, and conflict.

Beyzaei’s dramaturgy unfolds as a conceptual exercise in power, conformity, and manipulation, inviting audiences to reflect on the processes through which societies produce and sustain divisions.

Presented in the format of a reading, the event foregrounds the structure, dialogue, and philosophical inquiry embedded within the text, offering an intimate encounter with one of the landmark works of modern Iranian theatre.

The reading is directed by Mehdi Saki.

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Host or Publisher VIVA Alliance