TEHRAN – The Iranian plays “My Imaginary Skirt” and “The Story of Ahmad” are competing in the 26th edition of the Bursa International Children and Youth Theatre Festival in Turkey.

The puppet show “My Imaginary Skirt” was performed by Behnaz Mehdikhani on the opening day of the festival on Saturday.

Written by Mehdikhani, the play tells the story of an actress who talks about her colorful world. In her childhood, she had an accident changing her black-and-white sphere into a colorful world like a rainbow.

In this play, she takes the audience to her childhood village to rediscover the beauty of nature. Singing birds and plants, meeting with the Earth, swimming in a river around the village, sleeping under the village’s starry sky, and the images present on the little girl’s skirt help her enjoy the beauty of the environment.    

The puppets of the play produced by the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults – Kanoon have also been made by Mehdikhani.

“The Story of Ahmad” was a Zarrafeh Kheimeh Shab Bazi Group production staged on Sunday by director and writer Hojjat Zeinali and his puppeteers Vaqar Aqai and Sajjad Dashti.

After a long hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a storyteller returns to give performances for children, but because he has been away from the stage for a long time, he is confused about several stories.

The puppet show is inspired by the folktale of Hasan Kachal in the Azarbaijan region. There are also references to other folk stories of Azarbaijan, including “Foxtail, Who Is the Strongest” and “The Story of Shangul and Mangul”. Ahmed, who increased his life experiences by participating in other stories on the way to the giant’s house, can now go to fight the thief giant. 

Another overseas troupe and six groups from Turkey are performing at the Bursa International Children and Youth Theatre Festival, which will wrap up on Thursday. Several workshops, seminars and artistic gatherings have also been arranged.

Turkey’s ASSITEJ - International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People - organizes the festival every year with contributions from the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality and Bursa Culture, Arts and Tourism Foundation.

Photo: A file photo shows Behnaz Mehdikhani performing the puppet show “My Imaginary Skirt”. (Kanoon/Hamid Tavakkoli)

MMS/YAW