Limited historical documentation hinders accurate representation of women's professional in-volvement in theater in Iran. Class, education, and religion are major factors that have influenced women's participation in the performing arts. At the height of its popularity during the Qājār epoque, taʿziyya was performed by and for women in Fatḥ ʿAlī Shāh's court under the auspices of his sister, Qamar al-Salṭana, who was a great patron of the arts. Western-style drama came to Iran in the nineteenth century via France and Russia. The major…