Iran detains artists over Shakespeare performance

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian authorities have detained two artists over a theatre production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Cultural official Shahram Karami told the official IRNA news agency Monday that Iran’s judiciary had ordered the detention of the play’s director, Maryam Kazemi, and the manager of the theatre that hosted it, Saeed Assadi.

Karami said both were taken into custody Sunday evening, after the broadcast of a video trailer about the work. He said it had caused a “misunderstanding,” but did not elaborate, adding that a court had accepted to release the two on some $24,000 bail each.

A clip on social media showed female actors dancing with men as part of the trailer, an illegal act under the Islamic Republic’s strict rules that forbid gender mixing and women dancing in public.