TEHRAN – The Marionette Museum was inaugurated at the Ferdowsi Hall of the Rudaki Foundation in Tehran on Saturday.

The museum was established through the efforts of the Iranian theater director Behrouz Gharibpour, a pioneer of Persian puppet operas and founder of Aran Puppet Theater Group. The opening ceremony coincided with Gharibpour’s 76th birthday.

Approximately 800 marionettes, or string puppets, are showcased at the museum that narrate a 23-year bond between puppetry and Iran’s literary and cultural treasures, including the works by renowned Persian poets Ferdowsi, Hafez, Rumi, Saadi, and Attar. 

Speaking at the ceremony, Gharibpour discussed the process of forming and completing the Marionette Museum, stating: “This museum possesses vast educational capacities. It can provide students and schoolchildren, who are at the threshold of choosing their academic and career paths, with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with art and cultural professions.”

Gharibpour added that while many museums introduce us to Iran’s past and historical background, this museum goes beyond introducing a portion of the country’s cultural heritage; it introduces audiences to the process of puppet making, the art of puppetry, and an experience that had no precedent in the years preceding the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“Throughout the 23 years of activity in the Aran Puppet Theater Group, dozens of trained artists have performed on stage. We have endeavored to introduce the treasury of Persian literature and poetry to successive generations through the art of puppetry,” he said.

Referring to the 800 puppets on display, Gharibpour noted: “There are still many works and pieces that cannot be exhibited in the current space due to capacity limits. We hope that by expanding the space, we can showcase the works and achievements of artists who have been active in this field over the years.”

He also announced the upcoming performance of the puppet opera “Love,” based on Attar’s “The Conference of the Birds,” which will open on September 28. It is the story of Sheikh San'an and the Christian maiden, a Persian mystical poem and the longest story in “The Conference of the Birds”.

Also speaking at the ceremony, Leila Khosravi, director general of the museums at the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, described the opening of the Marionette Museum as a “different kind of event” in the field of museology. She stated that the museum is linked to various disciplines such as performance, literature, music, and storytelling, making it a valuable example of a museum related to intangible heritage.

She added that the importance of establishing such a museum lies in the fact that children and adolescents can, through their presence, become familiar with both the art of puppetry and the historical narratives and components of the nation’s intangible heritage.

Mehdi Shafiee, deputy for artistic affairs at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, was another speaker at the event. “The establishment of this museum is one of the important events in the field of culture and art in recent years. Its importance becomes even clearer when we consider similar puppet museums in other countries around the world,” he said.

“A museum is not merely a place for storing objects; it is the memory of a nation, a place where the past does not end but is instead transmitted to the future. In this museum, puppets that once came to life on stage, narrating romantic, historical, and literary stories, introduce a part of Iran’s history and literature to the audience,” Shafiee remarked.

He added that every puppet, costume, stage prop, and object in this collection is part of the story of an era in Iranian art, and alongside them, the evolutionary path of Iranian puppetry can be observed.

Referring to Gharibpour’s artistic career, Shafiee noted that during a period when many viewed puppet theater as a marginal performing art, Gharibpour believed in the potential of this medium and brought the puppet into the realm of narrating Iranian culture and literature.

Emphasizing the importance of registering and preserving the country’s contemporary artistic heritage, Shafiee stated: “Cultural heritage only remains alive when, alongside being preserved, it is made possible to recreate and connect it with today’s generation. From this perspective, this museum should not be the end of the road, but rather a living center for research, education, documentation, intergenerational dialogue, and the training of young artists.”

Shafiee also highlighted the museum’s potential in terms of cultural diplomacy and introducing Iranian art and culture to non-Iranian audiences. He expressed hope that the museum would become a center for teaching the younger generation, researching puppet art, developing international cooperation, and promoting Iranian art.

Following the ceremony, attendees toured various sections of the Marionette Museum and witnessed segments of the “Love” opera. They also had the opportunity to meet with the cast and crew and view the behind-the-scenes preparations for the opera.

A marionette, or string puppet, is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms of theaters or entertainment venues. They have also been used in films and on television. 

Behrouz Gharibpour studied theater at Tehran University and at the Dramatic Arts Academy in Rome (Silvio D'Amico). He founded Tehran and Esfahan puppet theater centers and changed Tehran's slaughterhouse into Iran's greatest cultural center. He has experience in writing and directing in fields such as theater, puppet theater, cinema, documentary movies, and TV.

Gharibpour is best known for his solid research works on Iranian puppetry as it was commonly practiced during the Qajar era. Before creating the Aran Puppet Theater Group, he formed the Iran Kheimeh Shab Bazi Group to revive kheimeh shab bazi, Iranian traditional marionette theater, with both traditional and modern-educated puppeteers. That group performed in Iran and abroad, including the Czech Republic, Portugal, and Venezuela. In 2003, Gharibpour founded Aran Puppet Theater Group with the main members of his former group.

Gharibpour combined aspects of Farsi epic poem materials, ta‘ziyah religious opera, and traditional interest in puppet theater when he founded Aran Group to help revive a national opera while relying on global experience. As a researcher, playwright, and director in cinema, television, theatre, and puppet theatre, he developed string puppet (marionette) works for an adult viewership.

Members of his group have trained at various university programs and bring a high degree of knowledge to the work. The group has performed in Tehran, Mashhad, Gorgan, and Shiraz in Iran. Internationally, it has presented in Rome (twice), Turin, Prague, Dubai (thrice), Tbilisi, Cracow, and Charleville-Mézières. 

The earlier marionette operas of Aran Puppet Theater Group include “Rostam and Sohrab” (2004), “Macbeth” (2007), “Ashura” (2008), “Rumi” (2010), and “Hafiz” (2012), among others.

Photo: Behrouz Gharibpour speaks at the opening ceremony of the Marionette Museum at the Ferdowsi Hall of the Rudaki Foundation in Tehran on September 19, 2026.

SS/SAB