TEHRAN -- A book on the history of Iran’s scientific theater was introduced during a ceremony held at a Tehran bookstore, Badraqe-ye Javidan, on August 8.

Retired Iranian multimedia artist Nosrat Karimi has compiled the book, which is entitled “The Commemoration Book of Abdolhossein Nushin”.
The book contains articles written by many close friends and coworkers of Abdolhossein Nushin, who is known as the founder of scientific theater in Iran. Parviz Natelkhanlari, Hamid Samandarian, Bahram Beizaii, Bozorg Alavi, Ehsan Tabari, Asghar Bichareh, Mahmud Dowlatabadi, and Turan Mehrzad are some of the figures.
The idea for the book came in 1979 when Karimi and his friend Taqi Minab teamed up to make plans, which unfortunately never began due to the death of Minab.
Karimi meet with Mohammad Amuii, the son of the owner of Tehran’s Pars Theater, and recalled the idea.
“By showing me some photos of old Iranian theater performances, he caused me to think about the idea once again,” Karimi, 83, said during the unveiling ceremony.
“It took four years to find the people to write articles for the book, but I pressed on because many believed that the book had to be written,” he added.
Literary monthly Bokhara’s editor-in-chief Ali Dehbashi, theater director Qotbeddin Sadeqi, actor Farhad Aiish, and many other cultural figures attended the ceremony.
“Before publication of the book, there was only an obscure image of Abdolhossein Nushin among the people,” Dehbashi said, adding, “The book removed the obscurity and added a golden page to the history of Iranian theater.”
Sadeqi described the book as a gauge of development of Iranian theater and said, “The book shows where from the Iranian real and scientific theater began.”
“With the tireless efforts he made for the adaptations and translations of great works in Iran, Nushin defined a deserved place for Iranian theater,” he stated.
However, Sadeqi criticized Nushin’s activities as a member of the Tudeh Party of Iran, an Iranian communist party.
“The development of the October Revolution in the world lured Nushin into joining the Tudeh Party and led them to abuse his feelings,” Sadeqi said.
“Art stands higher than any party. All the trials he then faced were for the reason that he was engulfed by something other than his art. This turn of events tainted his reputation,” he noted.
Born in 1906 in Mashhad, Nushin was son of a cleric known as Soltan-ul-Va’ezin. After primary school, he went to a French school for higher education and afterward he was awarded a scholarship to study history and geography in France. Instead, he went to Toulouse to learn theater.
He was exiled several times for his activities in the Tudeh Party and finally he died in 1971.
Photo: Nosrat Karimi attends the unveiling ceremony of his book “The Commemoration Book of Abdolhossein Nushin” at Tehran bookstore Badraqe-ye Javidan on August 8. The book poster is seen on the left. (Mehr/Ra’uf Mohseni)