Audience Should Be Keen on Festivals

Manouchehr Akbarlou, a TV presenter and cultural expert, praised theater festivals as positive act, helping decentralization of cultural activities from Tehran to other cities.

“Centralization of artistic and cultural activities in big cities, especially the capital Tehran is one of the problems facing the field. This makes many artists to come to Tehran to be able to display their art while limiting the audience to Tehran residents,” Mr Akbarlou told irantheater.ir.

There was a justification that Tehran and other big cities host major festivals because they enjoy better infrastructure such as more and better-equipped theater, he explained.

“Unfortunately many newly-built theater halls in other cities do not have such capabilities and artists who have devoted lots of their times on production are unable to show them in a proper way,” he regretted. “It could be said that organizing theater festivals in cities other than Tehran is ideal for them.”

The presenter of “Theater Magazine” in the national television urged the officials to update theater halls’ facilities prior to festivals and took into account which city they choose as host.

“If a festival is held in a city without proper theater halls and few theater audience, the event would receive a cold shoulder,” he said. “But any festival, which is organized during fixed periods, can gradually attract audience, making theater a looking-forward-entertainment for residents of that city.”

Mr Akbarlou referred to Marivan street theater festival as an example, which a deprived small city had managed to secure a foothold among the residents of that western town.