TEHRAN -- The 39th Fajr Theater Festival, with no international section because of coronavirus restrictions, will be inaugurated with a selection of 107 plays in Tehran tomorrow. 

“Perhaps during the very first months of the pandemic canceling events that had less of a historical record was much easier, but canceling the Fajr Theater Festival, which is almost as old as the Islamic Revolution, would be a great interruption causing theatrical figures to lose their connections with theater,” Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Seyyed Abbas Salehi said during a meeting with the organizers on Thursday.

“The energy and passion and dynamism in Iranian society indicate that art will not be shut down. The coronavirus era seems to be like the Sacred Defense era (Iran-Iraq war) in Iran, because we went through modes of artistic experiences in those years that are similar to these days. Iranian society has always been a unique and unpredictable society, and these situations will not permit its activities to stop,” he added.

“Holding the festival in these disheartening conditions will keep us hopeful, while the difficult situation can bring new opportunities, by turning the challenges into opportunities,” he noted. 

Several halls including Vahdat, Molavi, Iranshahr and Hafez as well as the City Theater Complex will be hosting the plays during the festival, which will be running until February 9 this year.

28 plays have been selected for the national competition section of the 39th edition of the festival.

The selection includes “Smoking Room” by director Saeid Zarei, “Pinocchio” by Mohammadreza Mahmudi, “Bodies” by Alireza Marufi, “Rashomon” by Ehsan Abdolmaleki, “Bloody Tuesdays” by Mohammad-Mehdi Khatami and “Naskh” by Amirhossein Ghaffari.

Also included are several provincial award-winning plays. 

The collection includes “Pandemic” by director Reza Purtorabzadeh, “Bob Bara” by Nima Imanzadeh, “Awakening in Time of Blood” by Ehsan Janami, “Growing” by Shoaib Maktabdari, “Reboot” by Amirhossein Ajir Arshad, “Uninvited” by Alireza Mahmudi and “I Am Staring at the Sea so No One Takes It Away” by Hassan Sobhani.

The plays in the guest section are “Ajax” by Fateh Baadparva, “Among a Great Number of Fish” by Amir Delfani and “A Cassette” by Mohammad Akbari.

In addition, 12 plays have been picked this year for the Soldier of the Revolution, a section dedicated to street theater.

The plays have been selected by a team of stage artists: Tohid Masumi, Saeid Kheirollahi and Mohammad Larti. 

“Those Years” by director Bahareh Saeidinia, “His is Champion Akbar” by Mostafa Dehasht and Bahar Bordbar, “Cocoon of the Revolution” by Puya Emami, “Life with the Taste of Gunpowder” by Mojtaba Khalili and  “In the Name of” by Akbar Qahremani are among the plays. 

Also included are “The Ring” by Nesa Soleimani, “General” by Saeid Badini, “Soldier of the Commander” by Amin Purmand, “Commander of the Shrine” by Amir Amini, “Messenger” by Hessameddin Iranmanesh, “No One Is a Man like You” by Behnam Kaveh and “When Hell Freezes Over” by Mehrdad Kavus Hosseini.

Photo: Posters for the 39th Fajr Theater Festival are on display at Tehran’s Rudaki Hall after unveiling by event president Hossein Mosafer Astaneh on January 27, 2021.

RM/MMS/YAW