Criticism of an actor / “Why should we eat pizza but not go to the theater?!”

Charso Press: This is what Bahram Sarvarinejad says. An actor who is currently playing in the last performances of the “House” show at the Sangalj theater.

This actor and director, who is active in theater and radio, talks about the conditions of acting in the theater in the current era and laments the job security situation of artists in this field.

Referring to the state of theater advertisements in the current situation, he says: These days, posters are no longer effective. We are also deprived of virtual space. Therefore, the only way to inform is by word of mouth. Whereas before, a large audience could be informed about the performance of the show within 30 seconds. Apart from this, we have distributed a number of tracts, which naturally will not have much effect.

Sarwarinejad explains about the experience of acting in the theater in the current situation: Anyway, everything is an experience and memories of it will remain with a person. Unfortunately or fortunately, in the years that I have worked, I have often performed in a hall with a small audience. Therefore, the small number of spectators was not a new thing for me. I even remember in one of our performances in a private hall, we had only one audience who was my friend and came from Shiraz.

Referring to his work in radio, he adds: In radio work, at the moment of the performance, only the members of the production team are present next to Adam, and I always imagine the audience, a large audience. Therefore, the small number of spectators has never had an effect on my performance. Although we cannot deny the impact of the audience’s energy and ego, this issue has not been decisive for me.

Sarwarinejad continues to explain about his presence in the theater in a situation where many professional artists in this field do not want to work: Of course, other works were staged besides our show. When we talked about doing this show, the situation was very different. However, theater is our job and we must keep it alive in any situation. It is the theater people themselves who can keep this art alive. Of course, each hall and each performance has its own conditions and it is not possible to issue a general ruling. My job is theater and radio, and I am not an employee where I also do theater work. So keeping this job is very important to me.

He goes on to explain about the job security of theater activists in the Corona era and the current social conditions: Unfortunately, watching theater in the era before and after the Corona and in the current era generally does not have a place in the household basket, and there are few families that have a place in their basket of consumer goods. They are considered for theater and other cultural goods. Therefore, if conditions other than the usual situation arise, cultural goods such as theater are quickly removed from the household consumption basket. Because the audience thinks in this situation, why should we buy books, go to the cinema, go to the theater, but no one says why we should eat pizza, and this is how the cafes and restaurants continue to work, but the cinema and theater are closed because the audience is a necessity. He does not see it for its existence. Unfortunately, in some places, managers have the same view and when they are faced with a lack of funds, they quickly remove the theater to save money. For this reason, instead of improving, the budget of the theater keeps decreasing, and as a result, this art becomes weaker.

Bahram Sarvinejad laments: Before Corona, the amount of allowance for theater groups was higher. Although it was not a very significant amount at the time, a group knew the amount of their allowance from the beginning and planned for it, but now everything is unclear for the group. In addition, the subsidies have decreased, which, taking into account the increase in the inflation rate, puts extra pressure on the show groups.

It should be noted that the show “Khoone” directed by Nasim Taji is on stage at the Sangalj theater until December 15th. Tickets for this show will be sold at half price on Tival website until the end of its performances.

This show is performed every night at 19:15.