Naqqāli, Iranian dramatic story-telling

Naqqāli is the oldest form of Iranian dramatic storytelling, which is notable in society from the past.

Naqqāli is an old form of storytelling about the ancient events that has been registered on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Naqqāli is a part of Iranian Performing Arts. A person that is called Naqqāl performs on a stage without any decoration.

• History
   

When there was no TV channel and Social media or internet connection, the only source of entertainment was getting together in a place and listen to the exciting epic stories which were called Naqqāli. This phenomenon dates back to many years ago when the epics of Shahnameh such as Siyâvash and Rostam and Sohrab were being narrated in the coffeehouses. Due to the religious belief of the Safavid dynasty, nowadays the theme of Naqqāli has been changed into religious stories.
 

• Naqqāl & Improvisation
   

Naqqāl is known as the preserver of the Folklore, epic poetry, and Folk music. Naqqāl or Naqqāl-Bashi is a person who narrates the epic prose or epic poetry about Iranian kings and champions. Naqqāl needs to be gifted to memorize poems or any other kind of literations, as well as managing an improvised speech which are highly demanding. Also, Naqqāl must be able to encourage the audiences to listen to their story. One of the most famous improvisations of Iranians is about Amir Arsalan Namdar which was narrated by Naqib ol Mamalek. Naqib ol Mamalek was the Naqqāl of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar.

• Coffeehouse-painting & Naqqāli
   

Naqqāli used to be performed in coffeehouses or historical places like caravansaries. Naqqāl narrates with music and explaining inscriptions. A cane and a stool are the only required tools for performing naqqāli. By the time, the painters began to draw what the Naqqāl narrated. At this time, the Coffeehouses-painting was born in the history of Naqqāli. Then the paintings that were hung on the wall became the new tools of Naqqāli.

• Where can you watch Naqqāli?

   
  • You can watch Naqqāli at the Performing Arts Festival, which it holds every year on 4th to 8th of September as the Ghadir Festival at Imam Hossein Square. The common place that you may see the performing of Naqqāli is as follows:
     

    • City Theater of Tehran

       Address: Valiasr Crossroad, Enghelab Street, District 11, Tehran province.
       

      • Getting there: You can install the Snapp application on your mobile and take a car to reach the museum. Also, you can get there via public transportation such as Bus, Metro, and a taxi as follow:
         

        Metro: You should get on the subway train in line-4 and get off at the Teatr-e Shahr Metro Station.

        Bus: You should ride the bus rapid transit (BRT) of Valiasr Street and get off at the Enghelab station.