THE RED ROOM – a portable opera for three voices. Set in 1930s Iran, The Red Room is an intimate drama with overtones of Gothic horror that explores nihilism and philosophic despair. It is based on a short story (The Darkroom) by the Iranian modernist master, Sadegh Hedayat, published almost 80 years ago in the collection of short stories called The Stray Dog. With a narrative that has echoes of Franz Kafka and Edgar Allan Poe, THE RED ROOM is an intense and disturbing drama about fear, isolation, and philosophical self-destruction.
In a provincial Persian town, an enigmatic stranger offers a stranded traveller a room. In a night of revelations, the traveller is drawn into the inner life of his Host and discovers the secret of the Red Room.