Theater Set to Experience a Big Jump

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a gathering of “Future of Theater in Provinces” at Sangelaj Theater of Tehran on Sunday, Seyyed Reza Salehi Amiri said that he believed in improving the condition of theater because the art could give identity to a nation, Iran Theater reported.

“Whenever I saw a play, I believe that theater must be supported more than ever as an everlasting and identity-giving art,” the minister said.

Stressing that theater must move towards fulfilling its social role four decade after the Islamic revolution, Mr Salehi Amiri said that rate of social upheavals was on the rise, which was a matter of concern for an Islamic country.

Given the social disorder figures, he said that family was the foundation of the society and theater could help strengthen relationships among members the families as its social mission.

The minister also laid emphasis on the role of performing arts in bolstering unity among different ethnicities in the country.

He said that the role of theater in strengthening social solidarity, social security and health as well as its importance as a social asset must be determined, adding that its approach towards reasons behind social gap and tolerance towards each other should be clarified.

Also, the minister said, theater can inject happiness into the society, hoping for a day that all Iranian families include watching plays into their leisure time every month.  

A specialized meeting on “Future of Theater in Provinces” opened at Sangelaj Theater of Tehran with the participation of minister of culture and Islamic guidance, Seyyed Reza Salehi Amiri, deputy culture minister for artistic affairs, Ali Moradkhani, and director general of Dramatic Arts Center, Mahdi Shafiee over the weekend.

The meeting, which is aimed at creating models, sharing opportunities and improving theater management across the country, closes today.