AUGUSTA — Reza Jalali’s play, “The Poets and the Assassin” will be presented at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, at Jewett Hall Auditorium at the University of Maine Augusta, 46 University Drive.

The play offers historical and contemporary insight into the plight of women in Iran by challenging assumptions about a land that was once home to the rich Persian civilization. The play portrays Iranian women’s struggle against religious and cultural tyranny while countering stereotypes about Muslim women.

“In many ways it’s a mythbuster. The play challenges our assumptions about Iranian women,” Jalali said. “When we look at Iranian women, we think of them as being forced to sit at home and being silenced and being marginalized. And that happens. I can’t deny that. But the beauty of the situation is that they continue to fight back. No matter what.”

The 90-minute play takes place in five parts, each one featuring a monologue from a different actor. In each scene an Iranian woman from a different time period speaks to the audience, each focusing on different topics including history, art, protest and the struggles of Iranian women in today’s society.

After each performance, the cast will join the audience for a reception and a discussion of the play.

“Most members of the audience come in with this preconceived notion of how things are in Iran and how Muslim women are. So they come with some ideas, with some unchecked assumptions, with some misconceptions that it’s the same thing everywhere in the Middle East,” Jalali said.

The play shows them that a majority of those who protested in the streets during the Islamic revolution in 1979 and in the summer 2009 were women. Jalali said many audience members are surprised to hear that a feminist movement exists in Iran.

The production is performed by theater students from Bates College and is directed by Bates Theater Professor Kati Vecsey.

The performance is free and open to the public, and donations are gratefully accepted. The performance will be followed by a discussion with the actors, director and playwright.

The production is hosted by The Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine, UMA’s Diversity Committee, Capital Area Multi-Faith Association and the Department of Theater and Dance at Bates College in Lewiston

For more information, visit www.hhrcmaine.org or call (207) 621-3530.