Alireza Naderi: The Collapse of the City Theater Reflects Our Cultural Issues

While the lengthy and controversial reconstruction process of the two halls of the City Theater, namely the Shadow and Qashqai halls, has led to numerous criticisms from theater professionals, last week the proscenium of the main stage of this important theater complex in Iran also collapsed, casting doubt on the continuation of operations in this significant venue. The incident occurred during the setup of the set for the play 'Assassination' directed by Hamid Reza Naeimi, drawing renewed attention to the maintenance status of Iran's most important performance complex. Alireza Naderi, a well-known playwright and director in Iran and a member of the Theater House board, views this incident and the overall condition of the City Theater complex as a reflection of the country's cultural situation: 'This incident of the collapse of the City Theater's proscenium, in my opinion, stems from a root issue. Some say one of our colleagues came to set up the decor and this happened. Others say no, they are doing something else underneath. I want to move beyond these surface issues. The issue of the City Theater is a matter beyond these stories and reflects our cultural problems. Generally, the government is not a good owner. When the government gets involved in details like the City Theater or the administration and production of theater, it has been proven over the past thirty-six or seven years in Iran that it will not yield good results. I can tell you plainly that the Iranian government does not know what to do about theater. Of course, the situation of the City Theater is important to us. I am a director who has staged eight plays there. It is regrettable for me. Part of the problem stems from management. Part of it is the chaos that fundamentally exists in decision-making in Iranian theater.' The incident at the main hall of the City Theater occurred at a time when there has been much criticism regarding the reconstruction of the two other halls of this complex. Alireza Naderi explains the reconstruction process: 'According to what the architect and Mr. Moradkhani have said, the start of this reconstruction was due to their concerns about dangers such as fire and such things. At that time, I was the spokesperson for the Theater House, and in the first meeting, which we became aware of a few days after the destruction, we went there and I wrote a point and asked the engineers there. I said, 'Mr. Architect, you should basically tell us what you want to do and provide us with a specific design for this action.' They agreed. However, events occurred in the Theater House, and I was moved, and others went. They agreed to their proposals, and then we ourselves, based on the concerns of friends from the Scene Designers Association, realized that something was happening. They went and followed up, and the work has now reached this point. Our scene designers were involved in the reconstruction of those two or three halls and faced problems. On this side, there were also financial issues. When you have a tangled mess, you need to find the thread. The thread is that the government must hand over due to its historical experiences. On the other hand, the guilds must be prepared to receive. With the current trend, do not doubt that something bad will happen to the Vahdat Hall as well. The Art Hall, one of the most established theaters in Iran, has been closed for years. Why? Because there is no demand. Who should provide this demand? The guilds. Which guilds? Guilds that are aware of their historical and social rights.' Alireza Naderi believes that the solution to the current problems is to hand over the maintenance of the City Theater to the theater activists themselves, but he, as a member of the Theater House board, states that the theater guilds themselves are facing other issues: 'The solution is to hand over matters to the guilds. In the past year and a half, I have realized that the government is not unwilling and sometimes feels compelled to hand over matters to artists and cultural figures. However, there is a significant problem on the other side, which is that many families in Iranian theater are addicted to a habit. They fundamentally consider government production of theater as their right and practically hand over this right to the government. A type of theater that wants to subsist on oil money and practically does not produce its audience. Not in schools, not in universities, not in factories, not in homes, it has absolutely no audience. It takes money and indulges in creativity. By doing this, it practically sidelines independent guilds that seek cultural activity around the same laws of the country. Art is to the extent that it is the creativity of people. Beyond that, it actually finds other concepts that were called 'tayyibat.' These are things that you convey your perceptions to others through artistic work.' Officials at the Center for Performing Arts say that based on expert reports, it is possible for the main hall of the City Theater to continue operations until the Fajr Theater Festival, but likely after that, this hall will be closed for complete reconstruction.