Gharibpour’s Puppets on Show For One Year

TEHRAN.(Iranart) – T heater director and pioneer of traditional puppet show in Iran Behrouz Gharibpour is displaying his collection of puppets at Ferdowsi Theater Hall in Tehran.

On show are puppets used for a variety of performances by Aran Puppet Theater Group, founded by Gharibpour in 2003. The present event is rare in that it will last for one year and visitors have the opportunity to get familiar with puppetry and puppet making, Tiwall.com reported.

Since inception the group has presented plays in Rome, Turin, Prague, Dubai, Tbilisi, Kraków  and Charleville-Mézières Commune in northern France. In the marionette operas the group has depicted lives of distinguished Persian poets including Rumi (1207-1273), Hafez (1325-1389) and Sa’di (1213-1291 AD).

Rostam and Sohrab, based on a story from the epic poem book of ‘Shahnameh’ (Book of Kings) by celebrated Iranian poet Ferdowsi (940-1020); Shakespeare’s Macbeth; Ashura, the tenth day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar which marks the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the third imam of Shia Muslims and the famous love story of Layla and Majnun by Persian poet Nezami Ganjavi (1141-1209) are some other works taken on the stage by the group.

The latest work of Aran group was a puppet opera dedicated to Persian polymath and poet Omar Khayyam (1048-1131).

Gharibpour, 68, studied theater at University of Tehran and at Dramatic Arts Academy in Rome. He founded puppet theater centers in Tehran and Esfahan. He is a veteran in writing and directing  theater, puppet theater, movies, documentaries and TV series. He is also known for his wide research on Iranian puppetry as was commonly practiced during the Qajar era (1785-1925).

Several international awards, including Sirene d’Oro 2008 from Italy’s puppet theater festival of Arrivano dal Mare, are among his honors.

Ferdowsi Hall, the venue of the opera, is located on Shahryar Blvd., Hafez St., south of Enqelab St.