Northlight Theatre | A Brief History of the Iranian Revolution
Northlight Theatre | A Brief History of the Iranian Revolution
SUBSCRIBE
BUY TICKETS
Box Office:

847.673.6300

Hours Today:

closed Full Schedule

A Brief History of the Iranian Revolution

 

 

1976 – ANDY WARHOL IN IRAN

  • In the play, the character Farhad belongs to a group aligned against the Shah. Warhol’s visit to Iran was real. His encounter with Farhad is fictional.

1977 – LEADING UP TO THE REVOLUTION

  • JANUARY – JULY: Journalists and political activists publish a series of open letters criticizing the accumulation of power at the hands of the Shah.
  • NOVEMBER 15: During a visit to Washington, the Shah’s welcome at the White House is disrupted by protests by Iranian students

1978 – THE REVOLUTION BEGINS

  • JANUARY 6: Iranian newspaper publishes a front-page editorial disparaging Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, reportedly written at the directive of the Shah.
  • JANUARY 9: Several thousand protest the defamation of Khomeini; security forces kill at least five people.
  • AUGUST 9: Riots begin across Iran. Martial law is declared.
  • DECEMBER 10: Millions of Iranians protest all over the country demanding the removal of the Shah and return of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

1979 – THE REVOLUTION

  • FEBRUARY: Khomeini returns to Iran and is greeted by millions of people in the streets of Tehran. Khomeini orders his followers to rise up in national revolution. Any remnants of the Shah’s government collapse. 
  • MARCH 8: Tens of thousands of Iranian women protest in Tehran on International Women’s Day to oppose mandatory veiling.
  • OCTOBER 14: Assembly of Experts approves draft new constitution, enshrining Khomeini’s innovative doctrine of velayat-e faqih, which accords ultimate authority to a religious leader.

1980 – AFTER THE FALL OF THE SHAH

  • JANUARY 25: Abolhassan Bani Sadr is elected as the Islamic Republic’s first president;
  • APRIL 1: Khomeini declared Iran an Islamic republic.
  • APRIL 7: US severs diplomatic relations with Iran. 
  • SEPTEMBER 22: Iraq invades Iran, setting off an eight-year conflict that resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides.

2022 – PRESENT DAY

  • SEPTEMBER: The “Women, Life, Freedom” protest movement began following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran’s “morality police”. Protesters have taken to the streets across the country to demand equal rights for women—and an end to a regime that’s proven incapable of guaranteeing them. 
  • NOVEMBER: Gen Z speaks out: “Frustrated and angry with the status quo, they aren’t afraid to express themselves online or in person nor to push the red lines of the Islamic Republic,” Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council writes. “And they’re shaking up the aging, sclerotic clerical establishment to a degree not seen since the country’s 1979 revolution.”

 

Sourced from brookings.edu and atlanticcouncil.org

OR, WATCH ‘CRASH COURSE’

Share this Post

Related

A close up black and white headshot of playwright Athol Fugard with a blue and white text overlay that reads "Recalling Anthol Fugard, by by past northlight artistic director Russell Vandenbroucke. Introduction by Northlight Artistic Director BJ Jones"

Recalling Athol

I first met Russell Vandenbroucke in the summer of 1987 when he had just started as Northlight’s 5th Artistic Director. I was remounting Michael Maggio’s...

Spanish dictator Francisco Franco (left) and Philippe Petain (right), head of state for Vichy France, salute during the French national anthem during a meeting in Montpelier, France, March, 1941.

1940s Vichy Government or 2025 U.S. Policy?

A Deeper Look at Prayer for the French Republic. Below, we’ve collected a list of events that occurred either in 1940s France or in modern-day...

Artistic director BJ Jones and Jeremy Wechsler's headshots on a parchment paper background. Black text reads "Prayer for the French Republic" in the bottom right corner. A black text title beneath the headshots reads "A Chat Between Artistic Directors"

Interview with Director Jeremy Wechsler on Prayer of the French Republic

It’s not every day that two respected Chicago Theatre companies band together to bring audiences an epic production like Prayer for the French Republic. Northlight...