TEHRAN -- Director of the Center for Dramatic Arts, Hossein Parsaii is convinced that the Ashura Rites Meeting is the best way to revive Iran’s religious dramatic arts.

In a press conference held here at the Tehran City Complex on Tuesday, Parsaii elaborated on the programs of the fifth edition of the Ashura Rites Meeting to be held in the northern city of Gorgan (January 10-13).
Eleven troupes will stage their plays and two more plays will go on stage at the non-competition section, he said, adding that Davud Rashidi, Ardeshir Salehpur and Saeid Kashen-Fallah are the jury members.
He called the meeting a responsibility, whose duty is more than merely to incite the feelings of viewers. “If we separate the religious concepts from artistic works, we can easily become overwhelmed by day-to-day life. We drown in every-day activities and this event is the best chance and a wonderful gift to help revive the traditional rituals and ceremonies,” he added.
“I believe these sorts of programs make the youth familiar with different forms of the traditional dramatic arts of Iran,” he remarked.
He also stated that most artists believe that religious works must focus on mournful issues. “People are also accustomed to this and expect to watch these kinds of plays. But when they watch new productions, they may react differently and might even dislike them, something that requires further research.”
He referred to the play “Bridge” by Mohammad Rahmanian and “The Caravan’s Sun” by director Mehdi Motavasseli and stated, “each play had its own audience, and we are trying to make a new connection between these kinds of works so that today’s generation can understand the concepts presented in new works and apply those concepts in their personal life.”
He further remarked that the program aims to revive and enliven precious traditional rituals, something that is of great interest to artists and veterans of the tazieh (Iranian passion play).
He also talked about the good impression of the Ashura meeting on the national registration of tazieh and said, “The international registration of tazieh requires some preliminary steps such as preparing visual reports and documents that are now completed and we are hoping it will be added to the UNESCO List of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by Noruz.”
Parsaii also mentioned that there are plans to dedicate several tekyeh (a place where ritual ceremonies for Ashura are practiced) for the purpose of permanent presentation of such performances in Tehran.
He also stated that the program is being held in competition and non-competition sections. “There are different reasons for artists to enter the program but the first meeting without a competition section had a better atmosphere,” he concluded.