In November, less than 6 weeks after the deadly fire at Evin Prison, the prisoners gathered in Hall 1 to for a night of theater and puppetry The play, titled “Oil Square,”  was written, directed and performed by 16 prisoners who the IRI have jailed for their activism. One prisoner taught the others to make puppets using flour paste, light dough and paint, and even their own hair.

The performance, a tribute to Iranian student activists, was staged during the upsurge of country-wide protests by university students denouncing the regime's forced hijab, and university enforcement of patriarchal university policies, and denouncing mullah-rule. The prisoners dedicated the evening to Saeed Zeinali, a 23-year-old university student who was arrested at Tehran University during the student protests of July 1999. His fate remains unknown to this day.

IranWire's January 12, 2023 coverage highlights prisoners inspiring creativity, and includes the full script.