Top plays of Divine Commander festival to go on stage at Fajr

TEHRAN – A selection of top plays from the 2nd Divine Commander Theater Festival are scheduled to be performed during the 39th edition of the Fajr Theater Festival.

“If conditions and the pandemic allow, the plays will be staged for the audience, and if not they will be recorded and will be streamed through a platform,” Divine Commander Theater Festival director Amir-Hossein Shafiei has said.

The festival was established after the assassination of Commander Qassem Soleimani during a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad on January 3 in memory of the chief of the Quds Force, the overseas arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Shafiei is the author of the play named “The Soldier”, which will be performed in different villages within Kerman Province, Commander Soleimani’s hometown in January.

The play is dedicated to the commander’s leadership of Iranian forces during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. His role in the victory of the Lebanese in the Israeli 33-Day War of 2006 has been spotlighted in the second stage.

The drama also focuses on the key role the martyr played in the defeat of the ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

Twelve plays will be performed during the 2nd Divine Commander Theater Festival.

“When the Muscles Turn to Stone” by writer and director Kianush Ahmadi is among the entries picked by a selecting committee that is composed of Shahram Ahmadzadeh, Mehdi Nasiri and Maziar Rashid-Salehi.

“Carnelian” by Shahram Soltani is another highlight of the lineup, and director Morteza Asadimaram will stage “Standing like a Cypress to Watch the Sun” written by Hashem Purmohammadi.

“Dragunov” written by Zeinab Zavalan will be directed by Doosti Irani, and director Mohammad-Hamed Esmaeilpur will stage “Tiny Little Birds” written by Govan-Mehr Esmaeilpur.

“1:20 AM” by Pejman Shahverdi, “Soldier” by Mohammad-Hossein Nazari, “Cold Breathe” by Mohammad Qasemi and “January 3” have also been selected.

The lineup also includes “The Sociology of Death” by Asghar Garusi, “Wave” by Sajjad Mansuri and “An Appointment in Damascus” by Nasser Hajibaqeri.

The 2nd edition of the festival will take place in the southern Iranian city of Kerman from December 21 to 26.

The Association of the Revolution and Sacred Defense Theater and the Revayat Foundation are the main organizers of the event.

Photo: A poster for the 2nd Divine Commander Theater Festival.