Mahin Oskouei

Mahin Oskouei (1929–2006) was an Iranian theater director, playwright, teacher, and translator. She was a pioneering female theatre arts figure in Iran, being the first actress to appear on stage, and the first to direct a stage play.

Early life and education

Mahin Oskouei was born in Tehran in 1929 into a wealthy and conservative Muslim family. Her sister was singer, pop star and actress Pouran Shapoori (1934-1990; née Taghany, Farhdokht Abbasi), a singer, who moved to the United States after the Iranian Revolution. Their aunt was a famous classic Iranian singer called Ezat Rohbakhsh (1908-1989).^[1]

She studied in Russia alongside Jerzy Grotowski.^{[citation needed]}

Career

In 1946 Oskouei began her acting career, becoming the first Iranian actress on stage.^[2][3]

She later became the first female theatre director in Iran.^[3] Her career included all aspects of Iranian theatre, including writing plays and translating major plays by such writers as Gorki and Chekhov.^[4]

She was also a teacher, instructing, among others, Parsa Pirouzfar in the Stanislavsky's acting method. Pirouzfar became an actor, theatre director, acting instructor, playwright, translator, and painter.^[5]

Death and legacy

Oskouei died in 2006.^[3][1]