“Welcome to the Global Village, Pinocchio” provides food for thought: Iranian director

TEHRAN,July 25(MNA) -- Director Masud Musavi said that he wants to provoke theatergoers to think about the difficulties facing contemporary man by his onstage play “Welcome to the Global Village, Pinocchio”. “I think that the theater is a thought-provoking art,” Musavi told the Persian service of Mehr News Agency on Tuesday. He said that “Welcome to the Global Village, Pinocchio” wants to say that people who are domineering and ambitious may sell their soul to the Satan. “I have greatest respect for the people who come to see my play. It is great honor to meet people who come to ask me about the play after every performance,” Musavi stated. The play has been on stage at the Qashqai Hall of Tehran’s City Theater Complex since July 8. It is about Pinocchio, whose dream of becoming a real boy comes true. He begins travelling to meet the protagonists of the world’s literary works from Don Quixote and Sheherazade to ordinary people from America, Europe, and Africa. He learns from bitter experience that he wants to return to the world of wooden puppets. “Welcome to the Global Village, Pinocchio” is based on the original play “Pinocchio Wants to Die” by Daruish Ra’yat. “The characters of Don Quixote, Marshall McLuhan, Pinocchio and Geppetto are different from what we have read before about them in books,” Musavi said. “All the characters are sued symbolically in this play,” he added. “In my view, it is important to able to connect with the theatergoers. They do not come to the theater just for fun, but they want to see something that provokes them to think,” he stated. Musavi is also a member of the cast. Other members include Mohsen Babaii, Moin Oshaqi, Shahin Alaiinejad, Parastu Karami and Hesam Manzur. “Welcome to the Global Village, Pinocchio” will be on stage until August 8.