TEHRAN – “Chorus of Orphans” from the Polish troupe Teatr KTO and “Cloudy House” from Iranian directors Siamak Ehsai and Hamid Purazari have shared the special award of the 35th Fajr International Theater Festival.

Winners were honored during the closing ceremony of the event at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on Tuesday night.   

“Chorus of Orphans” director Jerzy Zon also won the award for best director. The play is a story about loneliness, growing up and childhood spent in a post-war orphanage in northern France.

“Cloudy House” co-written by Nashmineh Noruzi and Zaman Vafajui is about the boredom of modern life.

Veteran Iranian director Ali Rafiei was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the closing ceremony. 

Rafiei, 79, criticized the conditions prevailing in the country’s theater after accepting his award from Culture Minister Seyyed Reza Salehi-Amiri.

“About 40 years passed since the victory of the revolution and not even a small step was taken to raise the country’s theater,” he said.    
 
“Theater’s major task is to transfer the joy of acting to actors and the joy of watching to the audience, if not so, theater would not even have a small role in the lives of people,” he added.

He noted that the joy will not be generated at the City Theater’s basements and storehouses where Iranian thespians have to perform their plays.

In a brief speech, Salehi-Amiri promised Rafiei that the ministry to double the budget for theater. 

Photo: Director Ali Rafiei (L) accepts a lifetime achievement award from Culture Minister Seyyed Reza Salehi-Amiri during the closing ceremony of the 35th Fajr International Theater Festival at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on January 31, 2017. Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Ali Moradkhani is also seen in the photo. (Honaronline/Saeid Rabiei)

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