Foreign troupes invited to Fajr Intl. Theater Festival

TEHRAN,Jan.3(MNA) -- Theater troupes from seven countries will present performances at this edition of the Fajr International Theater Festival. The festival will stage plays from Germany, France, Sweden, Japan and Italy in the international section of the festival, the secretary of the event Rahmatollah Amini mentioned in a press conference Monday Morning. “The jury selected the works according to their acting, technical quality and their stress on visual language which is in accordance with our social and cultural values,” he added. He said that the international section will prove its qualifications. “I do not have time to travel abroad to watch the foreign plays selected for the Fajr festival on stage. However, we consulted with Qotbeddin Sadeqi and Farindokht Zahedi who were acquainted with the participating theater troupes.” The acclaimed German theater and opera director Peter Stein had also submitted a play to the secretariat of the festival which was not selected for performance. However, he was invited to attend the festival, he said. Amini was appointed as the secretary of the festival three months ago after Mohammad Heydari resignation. During the festival, the Iranshahr Hall will also host a photo exhibition on “Life and Death of Marina Abramovic” -- a biography of the godmother of the performing arts re-imagined by visionary director Robert Wilson, he added. A total of 38 texts were selected from 168 works received by the secretariat of the gala in the panorama section of the event. The final entries of plays which will go on stage in the section will be announced after being reviewed in the coming days, he added. He said that 110 texts were received in the new experience section of the gala out of which 24 plays were reviewed and nine of them were selected for performance. Amini called the special view section of the festival the most “soulful” part of the event saying that the young artists surprised the masters of theater with their brilliant works. “The ritual, traditional and street theater section will feature 24 plays and twelve plays will go on stage at the regional section of the event,” he added. He said that several workshops will be held from January 25 to 31 saying that it is not concurrent with performances, so that the fans can benefit from them. He added that the exact program would be announced by Mohammadreza Rahmini soon. The academic approach toward the submitted works is the most important factor in the selection of them and those works which cover national, regional and religious themes have priority, he added. Vahdat Hall, Sangelaj Hall and Tehran City Theater Complex will host the performances during the festival which will be held from January 25 to February 11.