338 Plays in 3 Months

The Public Relations Office of the Dramatic Arts Center reported that only 338 pieces staged during the spring, according to statistics released by the Theater Evaluation and Supervision Council. The figures shows the number increased by 105 shows compared with the same period last year.

The pieces staged in private and professional auditoriums as well as local culture houses, cultural complexes movie theaters as well as artistic/cultural complexes and Tehran movie theater complexes. The pieces promoted both in content and subject, irantheater.ir reported.

Majority of works was welcomed by the audience, increasing the number of performances. The council said that the number of those received permission to extend performances this year reached 60, which is higher than last year.

434 permission for performance issued by the council of which 112 performed last year and 322 in the first three months of the current Iranian years (started March 20, 2016).

More focus on the Iranian dramatic arts literature and Iranian writers is seen this year. Experts and critics criticized the meagre number of the performed plays, which were written by Iranian writers. But the plays written by an Iranian or inspired by Iranian literature reached 201 this year while the foreign plays had been 28 and those adapted from a foreign plays had been five. This shows just one out of five plays performed had been foreign.

The number was 151 plays from Iranian writers to 18 foreign ones during the same period last year.

Each district of Tehran has hosted at least a piece played based on the need and demand of the neighborhood. For instance, cultural complexes and local cultural houses host the plays staged for the children and young adults to relate to families. Comedies are largely performed in movie theaters and movie theater complexes.

The council said that 134 shows were staged during the first quarter of the current Iranian year for the grown-ups of them 14 extended the number of performances. The figure was 80 during the same period last year.

The number of comedies or the so-called azad theaters had been 67, which is equal to the same period last year.

Thirty five plays were performed for children and young adults of them five extended performances. The figures was 36 during the same period last year.

The women-exclusive pieces had been six, which showed increase compared to the same period last year of one.

The play reading programs had been 13.