Ahmad Joulaie: We are looking to combine new content with the structure of Iranian shows

The International Traditional and Ritual Theater Festival has been held twenty times so far. This artistic event, which has been held biennially since the 2000’s, will hold its 21st edition from the 6^th of September to the 3d of October ,2023.

Ahmad Joulaie explained about the different parts of this artistic event: The first part of the festival is dedicated to Iranian shows; Works that are rooted in Iranian thought and culture and bring with them the spirit of tenderness and happiness.

He pointed out that the choice of structure and content in the free section is the responsibility of the artists: "Artists can perform according to their personal opinion and taste and according to the structure of ritual and traditional shows and related contents."

He explained about the puppet show section of the festival: "In this section, we pay attention to different forms of puppets, including two-dimensional (Sayeh Bazi aka shadow puppetry) or three-dimensional puppets and giant puppets.

Joulaie ansewered the question what Ta'ziyeh shows will be performed in the Shabih’khani section ": "We will host works beyond the topic of Ashura (martyrdom of the third Shiite Imam). In fact, this year Ta'ziyeh shows will be more important. Also, since all the divine religions are one religion, we will welcome to discuss the life stories of the great religious leaders and prophets like Prophet Moses and Prophet Jesus.

 

He stated that in the field of individual arts, attention has been paid to Iranian performance forms that benefit from characteristics such as good memory, psychology of the audience, as well as mastery over the body and expression: Individual arts have a narrative that forms a kind of performance. It means a show that will be combined with narration. In individual arts, the presenter and the performer will perform some kind of show along with music, words and musical instruments.

This popular culture researcher continued: "The contents of individual sections can also be new and related to the issues and conditions of the day. Karava, Naqqali, Ma’rekeh, tricks like (Band Bazi) and games like (torna Bazi) are all included in this section.

Joulaie also said regarding the holding of international seminars of this festival: "International seminars will be held with the presence of domestic and foreign researchers focusing on the characteristics of ritual and traditional performances in different countries and matching the rituals of one country with another country."

 

He explained about the playwriting section of the event: "Playwriting is one of the few competitive sections of the festival, which will be ranked at the first, second and third level. The judging of this section will be done according to the essence of Iranian shows in different forms, such as Rohuzi, siyah Bazi, puppet shows, etc.

The side exhibition with the subject of activities related to performing arts, such as the making of Ta'zieh war weapons (making spears, hats and …) is one of the other sections that Joulaie announced that it will be held in the Festival of Ritual and Traditional Shows.

the 21st International Traditional and Ritual Theater Festival will be held in Tehran and some provinces of the country from the 6^th of September to the 3d of October ,2023.