TEHRAN – The 30th Iranian International Theater Festival for Children and Youth opened in Hamedan on Saturday, with 45 plays performed.
Mehr reported that the opening ceremony of the festival was held at Imam Khomeini Square in the presence of children, families, and prominent national and provincial theater artists.
The event began on the Bouari pedestrian street, where a colorful procession of 120 puppets marched towards the city’s central square.
The festival’s opening event featured a variety of performances and activities for children and young audiences, designed to evoke a childlike sense of wonder.
The event featured six performances on the first day alone, bringing the total to 45 theatrical shows during the festival.
In addition to works from Brazil and Armenia, the festival will also feature works from 13 states in the country.
This year’s performances will be held in 17 venues, bringing a wealth of entertainment and culture to audiences.
Additionally, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance released a message to commemorate the festival.
In a message released at the opening of the festival, Seyyed Abbas Salehi expressed his blessings and support:
“The generation of children and youth is a bright mirror of the future of every society and a lighthouse guiding the development of culture and humanity. Their inquiring minds, brilliant imaginations and creative spirits carry a deep and hopeful responsibility to inspire aspirations for a better tomorrow. Theater for children and youth is an irreplaceable language of emotions and ideas and plays an unparalleled role on this path.”
“With this 30th festival, we hope that the tireless efforts of our artists will bear fruit and that this great art form will have a far-reaching impact. It serves as a bridge between dreams and reality, education and fun, individuality and community.”
“The festival’s slogan, ‘Children of today, new stories, stages of tomorrow’, points to the promising potential of fresh stories for a bright and hopeful future. We are convinced that artistic works in this field provide a unique opportunity to develop talent and broaden the spiritual and emotional horizons of children and youth. They also lay the foundations for strengthening national, religious and human identities,” the statement reads.
“Believing strongly in the power of children’s and youth theater, we look forward to a grand and successful celebration of this event. We extend our best wishes to all the organizers and dedicated artists involved in staging this unique occasion,” it concluded.
Under the slogan “Today’s Children, New Stories, Tomorrow’s Stages”, the International Theater Festival for Children and Youth, directed by Azadeh Ansari, will be held from December 6th to 11th, with the participation of domestic and international theater groups from all over the prefecture.
SAB/