Minister calls theater vital for truth, survival of civilization
Iran’s Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Abbas Salehi on Saturday framed theater as a vital pillar for any civilization, calling the art form indispensable for uncovering truth and fostering critique during times of national crisis.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 44th Fadjr International Theater Festival in the historic city of Kerman, Salehi laid out a sweeping vision of Iran’s millennia-old affinity for narrative and performance, IRNA reported.
He said the country’s ancient soil had always nurtured storytelling, from the tales of ancient Persia to contemporary stages.
“Why has this land had so many stories over thousands of years?” Salehi asked the audience. He traced a direct line from storytellers in ancient Jundi Shapur, who recited narratives to treat the sick, to the great poet Attar and the hundreds of tales within the Masnavi.
“Iran is a land of stories and performance,” he stated.
The minister argued that civilizations themselves are built and sustained through such narratives.
He cited a newspaper from Iran’s Constitutional Era, named ‘Theater’, which posited that education and civilization rest on three pillars: School, newspaper, and theater. “If a civilization is to form and develop, it needs the art of theater,” Salehi asserted.
He positioned theater as a crucial tool for societal introspection, particularly when nations face threats. “Where civilizations are threatened between endurance and decline, theater helps narrate the truth,” Salehi said.
He pointed to Iran’s own “sacred defense” period – referring to the 1980-88 war with Iraq – and more recent conflicts as times when theater’s role becomes paramount. The art form’s second crucial function, he contended, is to foster essential dialogue and criticism. “A civilization without criticism rots from within like termites,” Salehi warned, adding that theater prevents a nation or a society from internal decay by providing a genuine platform for expression.
The 44th Fadjr International Theater Festival, which runs in Kerman and Tehran until late January, hosted five major sections in Kerman this year.