Phenomenological Study of “Place” and “Non-place” in “Stairs” and “Night on the Wet Pavement” Plays by Akbar Radi

Unlike static philosophies, Phenomenology is a dynamic and vivid philosophy; meanwhile, similar to any other movement, it consists of several parallel sub-movements that are interrelated, but by no means, homogeneous which may run at different paces. To be more accurate, the overall shape of phenomenological movement is not like a river, but is similar to a flourishing tree with its branches spread out all around. Phenomenological approach adopts cohesion, integrity and indivisibility of human experience as well as the fact that the defined meanings by human needs are at the heart of our experiences. Accordingly, what is become important in this regard is the phenomenon of place. Place possesses identity, relation and history. When different places come together to influence each other, then "Space" is born. Accordingly, non-place is an area devoid of identity and history, which takes place within homogenous spaces. In the past. What has emerged in the contemporary world is non-places and empty spaces. The spaces that are for passage, not pause; for passing-by, not presence; for separation, not intimacy and familiarity and have led to distress and loneliness of human being. Non-place has emerged due to such a distress and loneliness of human. Non-place is the opposite of home. User of non-place is lonely, and the people living alone in it have a similar association with it, and no organic community is possible.
The techniques used in this article, qualitative, descriptive, analytical and data collection methods were used libraries. In this study, in addition to explaining the phenomenological perspectives concerning place and non-place, Akbar Radi’s viewpoint towards them are also taken into consideration. Among the contemporary playwrights of Iran, Akbar Radi’s views are much close to the phenomenology of place. The importance of this study is due to the fact that Radi repeatedly refers to the concept of place in his plays. A deep, exquisite, and new view towards place can be found across the works of Radi. He not only examines the sense of belonging to place, but also make his characters to encounter with it. Radi knows the spirit of the place, he is aware of sense of place due to walking in fog and a wet pavement. He is aware of the wind whisper and the sense of being in the forest and fog. Furthermore, he has been much successful in conveying the sense of place in his works, up to the point that his work are full of the meaning of place, and such places become easily believable to us. The purpose of this study is to find spaces, places as well as non-places in two plays of Radi, i.e. "Night on the Wet Pavement" and "Stairs"; to classify them; to understand the impact of place and non-place on the individual and the individual's reactions to them; to find the spirit of the place as well as to reveal the existence of a sense of belonging to place in Radi's characters. This is a pioneer research in this field of study.