TEHRAN – Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Hamid Shahabadi stressed on the importance of translation of Persian language drama into other languages in “a more serious way”.

 

In an interview with the Persian service of IRNA, he pointed to the increasing number of Persian translations of foreign plays in Iran. 

 

“The artistic atmosphere in Iran has a modern view toward performances and translated texts are used more frequently for stage which leads to their domination in Iran’s drama,” he lamented.

 

Such a dominant approach using translation does not have a good effect on the cultural situation in Iran, he warned.

 

“Translation of a book into Persian is not just a rendering of words into other language but also a transferring of part of their culture from that country,” he mentioned.

 

He said that Iran has a rich culture and renowned dramatists that provide a literary treasure full of civilization and culture for artists.

 

“For preservation of such heritage, we must translate more Persian dramas into other languages and use less western culture in an important field like drama in the country,” he said.

 

He said that excellent plays written by Iranian dramatists were on stage at the 30th Fajr International Theater Festival.

 

Much time is needed to compensate for social and literal disadvantages resulting from improper actions, he lamented.

 

He said that a “new approach” is needed for changing the situation of drama in Iran otherwise no new events will be happening in this field.

 

SB/YAW

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