Cultural Negotiations in Revisionist Mythmaking: Comparative Reading of Bahram Beyzaei and Mary Zimmerman

Although more than fifty years have passed since feminist scholars pioneered revisionist mythmaking, drama remains underexplored in this field despite its unique potential for cultural and social reinterpretation. This study offers a comparative analysis of revisionist mythmaking in Iranian and American drama, specifically examining Bahram Beyzaei’s play, One Thousand and First Night alongside Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses as examples. This research aims to establish general principles for revisionist mythmaking within drama, spotlighting the complexities that emerge in transnational contexts. It explores how Beyzaei and Zimmerman negotiate cultural narratives and try to reshape traditional stories and reflect contemporary issues, emphasizing gender dynamics and cultural values. The storytelling techniques of these playwrights broaden the cultural reach of these texts and facilitate a comparison between Iranian and American modes of storytelling. These plays actually reveal how intercultural encounters between Iran and the United States can deepen feminist understandings of myth and identity that point to both the shared aspirations and the distinct cultural contexts.