Theatre Closing to National Iranian Culture

Seyyed Reza Salehi Amiri, culture minister, Ali Moradkhani, deputy minister, and Mahdi Shafiee, director general of Dramatic Arts Center, as well as some art and culture officials visited Ali Nasirian to honor the National Theatre Day and the veteran actor’s message on the occasion of the World Theatre Day on Saturday, which was the first working day of the Persian New Year. The New Year began on March 21 and Iranians are celebrating the 13-day national festivities, irantheater.ir reported.

Mr Nasirian said that the country’s art and culture grew considerably in recent years given that art institutes and theatre audiences increased and young artists gained international successes.

Art-house theatre, which enriches social and cultural aspects, and is founded on thinking and psychological recognition of characters rather than entertainment, would receive supports everywhere in the world, the veteran actor said.  

Stressing the importance of theatre as an art, which could improve public culture, Mr Nasirian said that such pieces would be performed for free in many European countries with the support of the governments and municipalities.

He argued that the state supports for development of theatre had been meager in the past and the state officials should help develop Iran theatre and dramatic literature through its recognition.

“The dramatic literature of a nation will build up its national theatre and we should introduce Iran theatre to the world,” said Mr Nasirian, expressing satisfaction that the country would celebrate a day as National Theatre Day, which could be hopefully a day for encouraging performing arts in cities and provinces other than Tehran.

Seyyed Reza Salehi Amiri, the minister of culture and Islamic guidance, said in the meeting that every art would go to its national and traditional roots. “Theatre had shown that it is closing to the national Iranian culture. This is an unwritten point of return in the field of art and theatre should find its return path too.”

On increase in the rate of theatre-goers over the past four years, the minister said that the number would show that the capacity of theatre had multiplied.

He stressed that the economy of theatre should be improved in a way that theatre artists had no concern other than working their specialized field of art.

Mr Salehi Amiri said that new communications media and educational contents in virtual space and websites had helped narrow the gap between the capital and other cities and provinces, removing obstacles in tapping the talents of artists everywhere in the country.