Morgan's Journey, first foreign performance in ultra-conservative city of Qom, Iran since the Islamic Revolution

‘Morgan’s Journey,’ was invited to the city of Qom in Iran, which is the most religious and fundamentalist anti-West city in Iran (sometimes called The Vatican City of Iran). Every year the city hosts international conferences and seminars around Islam but arts and international cultural activities are spurned as symbols of Western culture or elitism.
‘Morgan’s Journey’ was the first Foreign and “Western” theatre performance in the history of the city since the Islamic Revolution 35 years ago. This fact created a small media frenzy in which media and organizers referred to the performance as a “Cultural Revolution in Qom”, “a unique cultural event” where “Taboos and traditions were broken.”

This is what the organizers said after the performance: “The performance happened without any interruptions or protests (There were security guards around the theatre to take action should this have happened) to damage the religious image of the city. This fact in itself was a clear response to the backward fundamentalists. Now that taboo has been broken, it has opened the door for future foreign performances in the city. The performance of ‘Morgan’s Journey’, its strength and its message wiped out the misconceptions and pessimism towards Western culture that was in the mind of the audiences of this city. It proved to them that even a “Western” play can talk about humanity, that it is not all about “Sex” and “immorality” (and that’s how badly publicity has portrayed “West” in the Muslim world, similar to the way Muslims are portrayed as “Terrorists” in West) This performance initiated a small dialogue but with a lasting impact between the west and Qom, a real dialogue of humanity and love…”

Sparrow feels proud to have been part of this event and the changes that it will bring to the arts community in Qom.

Robert Morgan’s reflection: “My experience performing Morgan's Journey in Iran ranks high on my ‘all-time highlight’ list. To have been part of such an intimately shared experience with large audiences in a foreign land was unexpected… and unexpectedly moving.

After these performances, particularly the performance in the city of Qom when asked, ‘What is the message of the play?’ I found myself saying, ‘I’m not sure there is one.’ I have been performing Morgan's Journey for more than 25 years and it seems to me now that the play is simply a shared experience of being attentive to the present moment…

…it seems the play is becoming more and more engaging for audiences and some of the moments in the play are becoming infused with a joy that seems to be growing deeper and deeper - perhaps because I’m finally learning how to play them… but it also seems that joy is aroused by the shared recognition of our common humanity… and perhaps with that comes compassion, a sense of hope and well-being and, dare we say it, love.”