Asghar Garousi to Iran Theater:
Festivals with Subjects Help Theater in Iran
Asghar Garousi whose play "This Cloud Is Rainy" took part in the 12th National RAZAVI Theater Festival talked to Iran Theater.
Asghar Garousi, author and director of "This Cloud Is Rainy" from Fars province, said that writing of the play took two years for him.
Mr Garousi said that the play was about a three-member family; two brothers and one sister, adding that the smaller brother was suffering from a mental problem after the death of their parents. They decide to take him to the holy shrine of the eight Shia Imam Reza (AS) to beseech for his healing, he said.
On method of performance, Mr Garousi said that it was real but was inclined to surrealism sometimes while he had intentionally tried to prevent such inclination.
The director said he wanted to highlight the performance method to the text rather than direction and its methods.
Mr Garousi said that he had gone beyond realism to naturalism for helping the audience to be able to feel the characters better, adding that set and costume designs had been simple to highlight the text.
About the Razavi festival, the director said that the pieces in festivals such as Ashuraii, Khamseh or Razavi used to be showoffs and propaganda in the early days but they had become more consistent and their quality had improved.
He added that he had seen many good works in the 12th edition of RAZAVI festival, which closed on August 2, and they had stayed away of being showoff and propaganda.
The festivals with subjects would help improve theater in the country, Mr Garousi said.
"This Cloud Is Rainy" is produced in Fars province. Firouzeh Babamaleki, Ashkan Farhadi and Arash Asgarzadeh act in the play. Marzieh Shahroudi is the costume and set designer. The piece will be performed in Shiraz soon.