Mostafa Oskooyi
Napoleon and Mushegh's colleague
FRIENDS
9/26/20263 min read
Mostafa Oskooyi occupies an important place in the history of modern Iranian theater, but his connection to the Sarvarian family was also personal and enduring. An actor, director, teacher, and theater scholar, Oskooyi belonged to a generation that sought to transform theater in Iran from popular entertainment into a serious professional and artistic discipline. After studying theater and directing in Moscow and returning to Iran in the late 1950s, he and his wife, Mahin Oskooyi, established the Anahita Theater, introducing audiences and young performers to a more disciplined approach to acting influenced by the Stanislavski method.
The Sarvarians became part of this theatrical circle. Napoleon and Mushegh Sarvarian collaborated with Oskooyi on several Anahita productions, bringing their experience in visual art, stage design, and theatrical production into a movement that was helping reshape the Iranian stage. The relationship extended to the next generation as well. Sonia Sarvarian’s son, Edward Balasanian, appeared in several significant roles under Oskooyi’s direction, including Chekhov’s The Bear and, notably, the title role in Othello. Theater thus became more than a professional intersection between Oskooyi and the Sarvarians; it became part of a shared cultural world in which members of the family participated as designers, collaborators, performers, and supporters.
The relationship also moved beyond the stage. Oskooyi provided considerable assistance to Mushegh Sarvarian during Mushegh’s efforts to bring his film Haji Jabar in Paris to its final screening. Such moments reveal another side of these artistic relationships. The people involved were not merely colleagues appearing together in programs and credits; they relied upon one another to help projects survive the practical difficulties of making theater and cinema in Iran. Oskooyi’s friendship with the Sarvarians belonged to this larger network of artists who exchanged ideas, opportunities, skills, and support.
Decades later, the connection had still not disappeared. Even at an advanced age, Oskooyi continued teaching theater. George Sarvarian eventually brought his son Armen to audition for Oskooyi’s classes, introducing yet another generation of the family to the man who had once worked alongside Napoleon and Mushegh. Oskooyi accepted Armen for an upcoming performance, although the project was ultimately halted when Oskooyi became ill. It was a small episode, but one with an extraordinary historical symmetry: a relationship that had begun among pioneers of Iranian theater had survived long enough for a new generation to walk into Oskooyi’s classroom.
For the Sarvarian story, Mostafa Oskooyi therefore represents more than an important figure who crossed paths with the family. His relationship with them illustrates how artistic friendships can stretch across decades and generations. From Napoleon and Mushegh’s collaborations at Anahita, to Edward stepping onto the stage as Othello, to Oskooyi assisting Mushegh with his filmmaking, and finally to young Armen entering his theater class many years later, the connection repeatedly returned to the same place where it had begun: the stage.