TEHRAN -- The director of the play “Public Clamor” is seeking another theater after the cancellation of its performances at Tehran’s Molavi Hall following the hall’s closure.

Shadmehr Rastin has threatened to stage it in an art gallery or a movie theater if the Center for Dramatic Arts (CDA) fails to allocate a theater for his play, which is about topics discussed by people in public places.
“Our troupe is committed to performing the play,” Rastin told the Persian service of ISNA on Wednesday.
He expressed his hope that the new director of the CDA, which is affiliated with the Ministry of culture and Islamic Guidance, will find a solution for his dilemma.
A play must obtain a performing license from the Culture Ministry, which allocates a hall for the play afterward.
“Public Clamor” was scheduled to be performed at the Molavi Hall from July 18 for a month.
However, it was cancelled after the hall was shut down by the University of Tehran on June 22 with no specific reason mentioned for the abrupt decision.
Meanwhile, unofficial sources stated that loose observance of hijab by artists and audiences was one of the reasons the theater was shut down. It was mostly dedicated to intellectual and student performances and was one of Tehran’s five main theaters.
Adjacent to the University of Tehran, the Molavi Hall belongs to the Academic Center for Education, Culture, and Research (ACECR). The hall was reopened a few days after its closure, however, the University of Tehran appointed a single new director to supervise the hall and dismissed all others from the staff.
On June 27, director Nasser Hosseinimehr withdrew “The Hamletmachine” from the schedule of the Molavi Hall in protest over the new official changes.
He was to stage German dramatist Heiner Müller’s play “The Hamletmachine” at the theater in late August.
Despite objections raised by a large number of stage actors and directors against them, the changes have remained in effect.
Photo: Members of Shadmehr Rastin’s troupe in a rehearsal for “Public Clamor”