30th Int’l Theater Festival for Children & Youth
Minister hails theater as ‘unrivaled language’ of youth
Iran’s Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Abbas Salehi on Saturday praised children’s theater as an “unrivaled” medium for shaping young minds, as the north-western city of Hamedan opened the 30th International Theater Festival for Children and Youth with six stage productions across its main venues.
Salehi, in his message to the festival, called the country’s young generation a “bright mirror” of Iran’s future.
Their curiosity, “brilliant imagination” and “creative spirit”, he said, placed a “serious but hopeful responsibility” on cultural institutions.
Theater for children and teenagers, he added, served as the “unparalleled language of feelings and ideas” and carried a “bridge between dream and reality, learning and joy”.
The week-long festival, running from December 5 to 11, began with works from troupes based in Tehran, Hamedan, Khuzestan and other provinces.
Local organizers said the shows were spread across the city’s principal halls to draw in families and school groups.
Avicenna Cultural Complex staged ‘A Day for Arezou’ written and directed by Morteza Sekhavat from Dezful. The 70-minute play was booked in for three performances.
Shahid Avini Cultural and Artistic Institute presented ‘All Penguins or What?’ directed by Sharareh Tayyar from Tehran, a 45-minute piece also scheduled for three rounds.
Fajr Hall hosted ‘The Tale of the Moon, the Sun and Leila’ by Hamedan-based writer-director Saeed Pourshabanian, with the same performance times.
The festival debut of ‘God’s Enemy,’ written by Emadeddin Rajablou and directed by Majid Araghi, a 50-minute production arriving from the capital was screened.
Two homegrown works, ‘From Seed to Bread’ and ‘What Are You Afraid Of?’, toured kindergartens and centers run by the state-run Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults earlier in the morning.
Salehi, referring to the festival’s slogan “Today’s Child, A New Story, Tomorrow’s Stage”, said new forms of storytelling could “open the way to a hopeful future”.
He expressed confidence that this year’s edition would “bring to fruition the tireless efforts” of Iranian theater practitioners and offer “rare opportunities” for nurturing talent and strengthening children’s emotional and intellectual development. He also said such work helped “consolidate national, religious and human identity”.
Under the stewardship of artistic director Azadeh Ansari, the festival is hosting domestic and foreign companies, with organizers aiming to keep attendance high throughout the 7-day run.
Salehi closed his message with a wish for the festival’s “successful and dignified” staging and commended the crews who have “carried the weight” of the country’s children’s theater scene.