Contemporary drama differs from its classical counterpart in many respects, including 'the three unities' and some other cumbersome dramatic rules. It seems as if all classical dramatic criteria such as action, character, dialogue have undergone a drastic transformation and time has also lost its linear flow. The contemporary dramatic text has a distorted structure which deals with daily issues and bespeaks the problems of today’s society.
This article discusses these structural and conceptual differences through a comparative approach applied to Negin, an Iranian play, by Hamid Amjad. In this play, the author contends, social realities create tension and the circular structure of the play negates the liberation of the characters.To clarify the novelties of the play, samples of contemporary French drama will also be presented.
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