Reza Saberi: Theater is my job

Saberi reveals that his love is theater and he has not had any job but theater. Therefore, it doesn't matter to him what kind of situation he is in, because the theater is his job and he must support it  any way. Reza Saberi’s "Iranians" was performed on Tuesday and Wednesday in Vahdat Hall . It competes in the international section of the 2023 FITF.  "Iranians" is the story of the hidden truths about the killing of Alevi women and children by Harun Abbasid  caliphate until his son Ma'mun came to power. This show deals with the forced journey of Hazrat Ali ibn Musa al-Reza (a.s.) from Medina to Khorasan.Iran Theater had a Question and answer with writer and director Reza Saberi at Laleh Hotel about "Iranians" and FITF.

How did you choose a religious story  for the show and direct  it with this approach?

- I have done shows with religious themes before, but it was not so serious and focused, so this show actually had two versions, the first one was performed a few months ago in the large parking lot of holy shrine for a public.

So was it an environmental theater?

-Yes, but the second version was written with many changes for the stage.

Do you mean you updated it?

- Yes, there was a folk and simple show for the people in an open area where the audience passes by and stops for a moment and watches the show, but I wrote the second version for the stage.

What was the reaction of the people to that show?

- It was amazing.                                                                                            

Why?

- Because it is interesting for the audience to see a show in the shrine; Also, Imam Reza, his kindness and gentleness are attractive to people. It is attractive for people to see Mamoun and Haroun and such characters. People know history and are often familiar with Imam Reza and his life history as well. In the show that we had worked on, it was with simple, normal and colloquial language, and sound arrangements, singing and harmony, etc. But in the second version, I avoided all these features, because I believe in a special literature for the stage. The writing of the characters, the codes that I chose, the path that was chosen for a group of 14 people who want to take the Imam from Medina to the slaughterhouse, and the Imam is martyred in Marv. This is the path of the story: from the origin to the destination and there are many codes in the middle of the way, some of which I deleted because they did not work for me and I chose the codes that were a little bolder in terms of presentation and I think it was very difficult to find the codes I wanted. Because I had to read history and I didn't know history completely, and I read these regularly and turned them into dramas and went back to them. In terms of writing , the second version was very difficult and exhausting. There was no one to help me, and I had to look for references and write.

Shouldn't you have distorted the history?

-Exactly

And the play should be believable.

- Yes, I should have turned the history into a show, but I still believe that in the second version I can work more correctly and deeply, that this is the general need of the society and there is a lot of work to be done, which resonates in today's society.

I get the feeling that your approach is also postmodern.

-yes.

What is the reason for your participation in the  2023 FITF? Because you consider theater as a job?

-Yes, but I don't want to say that it's like a supermarket, but theater is a job and you have to live with it; And you can't say that you shouldn't work because the conditions are a bit unfavorable. Now some people say that you shouldn't work and that the theater should be closed. I do not believe in such a thing at all.

Do you remember the best edition of the festival?

-The 12^th edition (1994 FITF) was the best.

Do you remember the best award you received from FITF?

-The prizes of the 1994 FITF (for Swimming in Fire) were more pleasant for me.  I received awards from the FITF about five or six times, But the prize of the 1994 FITF is sweeter for me, because at the height of poverty, suddenly you get a lot of money, it becomes memorable.

The 2023 FITF is underway in Tehran until January 31. The festival is presided over by Iranian actor and director  Kourosh Zarei.