Ashurbanipal Ebrahim Babilla[a] (1944â€"2011) was an Assyrian-Iranian
actor, theatre director, playwright and visual artist. Babilla's
oeuvre received both critical acclaim as well as criticism. He wrote
numerous plays in Persian and English. As a result of the Islamic
Revolution, Babilla was forced to flee his native Iran and moved to
the United States. In 2005, alongside four other Iranian writers, he
received the Hellman-Hammett Award by Human Rights Watch.Ashurbanipal
Babilla, known as "Bani" to his friends and relatives, was born to
Shedrach and Luba Babilla (née Tamraz) in Tehran. His family were
Presbyterian Assyrians. Babilla completed his primary and secondary
education at the Mehr and Firuz Bahram schools in Tehran, and moved to
Beirut afterwards to pursue further education. In 1968 he received his
B.A. from the American University of Beirut and in 1971 his M.A. from
the Near East School of Theology.In Beirut, Babilla wrote several
plays before returning to Iran in 1972. When he returned to Iran,
Babilla at first planned to become a Presbyterian minister. However,
according to Khosrow Shayesteh / Encyclopædia Iranica, due to his
"radical belief in liberation theology", Babilla was reportedly de
facto ousted from the Presbyterian Church by its elders. In
1972â€"1973, Babilla taught English literature at the Faculty of
Literature and Foreign Languages of the University of Tehran. During
his time as a teacher, Babilla directed several English plays, which
were "produced by the International Theater of Tehran".Babilla became
renowned among Iranian avant-garde artists as a result of the plays he
directed. In 1973, he became a member of the Kargah-e Namayesh
(Theater Workshop). From 1973 to 1979, Babilla wrote numerous plays in
Persian. He also created visual arts. Similar to the works he wrote,
Babilla's paintings were deemed controversial. However, The posters
Babilla created for his plays were a considered to be success and were
named as "among the most progressive theatrical posters in the history
of poster in Iran".
actor, theatre director, playwright and visual artist. Babilla's
oeuvre received both critical acclaim as well as criticism. He wrote
numerous plays in Persian and English. As a result of the Islamic
Revolution, Babilla was forced to flee his native Iran and moved to
the United States. In 2005, alongside four other Iranian writers, he
received the Hellman-Hammett Award by Human Rights Watch.Ashurbanipal
Babilla, known as "Bani" to his friends and relatives, was born to
Shedrach and Luba Babilla (née Tamraz) in Tehran. His family were
Presbyterian Assyrians. Babilla completed his primary and secondary
education at the Mehr and Firuz Bahram schools in Tehran, and moved to
Beirut afterwards to pursue further education. In 1968 he received his
B.A. from the American University of Beirut and in 1971 his M.A. from
the Near East School of Theology.In Beirut, Babilla wrote several
plays before returning to Iran in 1972. When he returned to Iran,
Babilla at first planned to become a Presbyterian minister. However,
according to Khosrow Shayesteh / Encyclopædia Iranica, due to his
"radical belief in liberation theology", Babilla was reportedly de
facto ousted from the Presbyterian Church by its elders. In
1972â€"1973, Babilla taught English literature at the Faculty of
Literature and Foreign Languages of the University of Tehran. During
his time as a teacher, Babilla directed several English plays, which
were "produced by the International Theater of Tehran".Babilla became
renowned among Iranian avant-garde artists as a result of the plays he
directed. In 1973, he became a member of the Kargah-e Namayesh
(Theater Workshop). From 1973 to 1979, Babilla wrote numerous plays in
Persian. He also created visual arts. Similar to the works he wrote,
Babilla's paintings were deemed controversial. However, The posters
Babilla created for his plays were a considered to be success and were
named as "among the most progressive theatrical posters in the history
of poster in Iran".
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.