Common Design Project:
Layla and Majnun
Layla and Majnun is a classic story about the 7th-century Arabian poet Qays ibn al-Mulawwah and his lover Layla bint Mahdi (later known as Layla al-Aamiriya). The story has been passed among Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Indo-Aryan languages. Faisal and Layla fall in love when they are young. As they grow up, Layla’s father forbids them to be together. Qays becomes obsessed with Layla, earning him the name Majnūn, which means “crazy,” or “possessed.” The story exists as a popular poem. It also exists as full-length stories. It has been staged as operas, ballets, and as stage plays in varying lengths and formats. The story is one of tragic, undying love similar to the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet, which was written much later. Layla and Majnun is a type of story known as “virgin love,” meaning that the lovers never marry or consummate their passion for each other.
The Scenery Project
This is a hypothetical production. We will be working from the Nizami’s Layla and Majnun plus a short libretto by Uzeyir Hajibeyov and Jeyhun Hajibeyli from 1908. We will not be directly producing either of these versions. Instead, we will be devising a new work that tells this story in a unique way.
Your task is to design a performance space that will inspire and accomodate this work. The scenery can be for any theatre or performance space that you are familiar with. The intention is for the performers, director, and other creatives to begin work in reaction to the scenic design provided by this project.
The book and the libretto being used for source inspiration are available below. Designs are to be submitted digitally through this website. Any rendering, model, digital model, or other format are welcome. Designs will be exhibited digitally at World Stage Design in 2025.
Brief Version: https://oistat.scenicandlighting.com/layla-and-majnun/
Download Nizami: Layla and Majnun. Prose adaptation by Colin Turner
Download Leyli & Majnun Mugham Opera in Five Acts by Uzeyir Hajibeyov and Jeyhun Hajibeyli
