TEHRAN – After several weeks of rehearsals, dozens of theater troupes will go on stage during the 34th Fajr International Theater Festival, which opens at Tehran’s Sangelaj Theater this evening.

The organizers selected Sangelaj to host the opening ceremony in order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the hall, which forms part of the modern history of Iranian theater.

Plays from around the world will be performed in various sections of the festival, which will also feature dozens of exhibitions, workshops and meetings.

Nine groups of thespians from around the globe and thirteen Iranian troupes will compete in the international section.

A jury composed of Stefan Schmid from Germany, Jerzy Limon from Poland, Oleg Loevski from Russia, and Masud Delkhah and Farrindokht Zahedi from Iran will judge the performances in this section.

Renowned German director Thomas Ostermeier plans to stage William Shakespeare’s masterpiece “Hamlet”, while Norwegian director Marianne Roland’s troupe will perform Henrik Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” in the international section.

Spanish director Alex Serrano is participating in the event with “Catastrophe” and Agrupacion Senor Serrano, a company dedicated to the performing arts in Spain, will stage “A House in Asia”.

The section also includes “B Lala”, which will be put on stage by an Iranian-German cast. Yasser Khaseb is the director of the play.

Among the Iranian plays in the international section are “The Last Pomegranate in the World” by Ebrahim Poshtekuhi, “Odyssey” by Arash Dadgar, “A Song for You” by Amin Ebrahimi and “Vanik” by Sohrab Salami.

An exhibition, scheduled to open at Masudieh Mansion in Tehran today, will display 65 theater posters by 39 Iranian graphic designers in the Poster and Visual Identity section of the festival.

Theatergoers can also watch outdoor performances as eight Iranian plays have been enrolled to compete in the street theater section.

“To Be or Not to Be on the Battleground” from Rey, a group led by director Saeid Kheirollahi, and “Dolls Fall in Love” from Ava, a troupe led by director Samaneh Musavi, are among the outdoor performances.

Directors Khodadad Khoddam, Mohsen Ardeshir, Mojtaba Khalili, Amir-Hussein Shafiei, Sadeq Hosseinpur and Fatemeh Radmanesh also have been scheduled to perform plays in this section.

Winners will be announced during the closing ceremony of the festival on February 1.

Photo: This file photo shows theater aficionados strolling around Tehran’s City Theater Complex during the 33rd Fajr International Theater Festival. The 34th edition of the festival will open today evening. (IRNA/Marzieh Musavi)

AFM/YAW
EN