Mahmoud Farhang’s severe criticism of theater performances in the street; Illicit children of the theater are free

Fars News Agency – Theater Group – Reza Pourzarei: Pars regional theater festival was held from 5th to 8th of December, hosted by Shiraz city. A festival where the quality of street theater performances was criticized, especially Mahmoud Farhang, director, playwright and veteran theater critic, strongly criticized the state of street theater performances and called it “the wrong children of Azad Theater”.

* Most of the performances were just street shows!

Farhang, who judged the street section of the Shiraz regional theater festival (Pars), in an interview with Fars reporter about the street performances they judged, said: We saw and judged 17 plays during the festival, and unfortunately most of the performances were street performances and They did not have the characteristics of street shows in themselves and the reason is that in the last ten years no serious attention has been paid to the issue of street shows and the shows that are performed in provincial, regional, Marivan, and city festivals in Lahijan have been named street show festivals in While the feature of street show is not seen in them.

* Why is there no curriculum as a street show in universities

He asked why street shows have gone this way? He said: The question should be asked, why there is no curriculum for street performances in universities that have drama. Even the workshops that are held under the title of street performances, but the characteristics of street performances are not mentioned in them. The work should have a serious relationship with the audience and make them join the story, and the audience should know themselves as part of the show and participate in the performance.
The street judge of the Pars regional festival said about his experiences with the street show: I took a show to Canada and saw about 1050 shows there, and I realized that in different countries there is a different view of the street show that we ignore. We took it and we don’t pay any attention to them, and there he clearly saw the structure of the street show by performing the show on the street.
Farhang noted: That’s why I published a book 3 years ago titled “Street Show in the World and Street Show in Iran” so that I can preserve the elements of Iranian shows.

* Our Taghzih show is becoming a museum show
Criticizing the neglect of the original art of Tazzieh, this artist said: Currently, our Taghazieh show is becoming a museum show, and unfortunately, in recent years, the greats of Tazzieh show have passed away, and we could not preserve their collections, techniques, and experiences. Protect our future.
Farhang said about the field shows that are performed in different cities: In our field shows, there are elements that can be used. He performs for the people and maintains his audience. In such performances, suspense, expectation and content can be seen, and even the audience is invited to be present in the show. Rasem Marot, Pahlavi can also be seen in these shows, and they can support their economy without the need of government assistance.

He emphasizes that “if our street show can also use the elements of Iranian shows such as Ta’ziyeh, Takht Hozari, Naqali, Perdah Khoani, it can work better in attracting the audience”.

* Shows left from the stage with obscene jokes try to keep their audience
The secretary of Sahibdelan Religious Shows Festival also asked about how street shows make their way to festivals. He told Fars: In recent years, both in the street shows of regional festivals and in the Fajr Theater Festival, the shows left over from the stage with a little change and the use of obscene jokes with awkward and immoral behaviors are trying to retain their audience and this seems I am not a street theater. Such theater performances in the street, which are performed in the name of street performances, are the offspring of free theater.
At the end of his speech, Mahmoud Farhang stated: I hope that in the coming years, along with the provincial and regional festivals of Fajar Theater, the teachers of Fajar Theater will provide a platform for teaching different types of street theater, and this is one of the duties of Fajar Theater, which will be able to perform in the provinces with an open plan. A specific lesson for those who want to work in street theater to know the characteristics of street theater.

In the end, he emphasized: It is not true that we have searched for a series of headlines and presented these as our own knowledge, and to say that there are such shows in our country, Iran, while I must say that there are no such shows in our country, because no one They have not been trained and no one has invested in them. If we can train various types of street theater in a centralized and continuous manner throughout the country within 5-6 months, we can hope for the revival of various types of street performances.

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