Fajr Intl. Theater Festival to open Friday

TEHRAN, Jan. 20 (MNA) -- The 28th Fajr International Theater Festival will be opening in Tehran, Iran, on Friday.

20 foreign and Iranian plays by renowned artists will go on stage during the festival, among which Italy and the Netherlands are the most active participants.

“Grand Inquisitor” by Peter Brook was among the participants whose staging was cancelled due to “extremely divergent reactions” produced by his invitation, as the Public Relations of the festival announced in a press release.

International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) President Yun-Cheol Kim (South Korea), IATC Honorary President Ian Herbert (Britain) and IATC Honorary Secretary General Maria Helena Serôdio (Portugal) will judge the International Section alongside with the renowned Iranian stage artists Davud Rashidi and Davud Mirbaqeri.

The foreign jurors will be holding several workshops during the gala in Tehran.

Hilda Hellwig will hold a workshop on stage directorship. World modern theater will be presented by Levan Khetaguri and Brian Daly from Canada will hold a “Character Mask” workshop.

British theater scholar Simon Edwards will hold a “Clown Master Class” during which he will teach techniques for playing the part of a clown.

Constanze Fischbeck and Daniel Kötter will hold a 5-day workshop entitled “The Art of Tehran Video… Documentation of Theater-Performance of Urban Space” during the festival and Roger McCann will hold one-day educational workshop on “Theatrical Marketing”.

A collection of posters concerning festivals and seminars on theater as well as performances will also be showcased on the sideline of festival.

The posters created over the past two years will be put on display at the Iranian Artists Forum from January 22 until 31.

The festival will take place in Tehran from January 22 to 31.