Pary Saberi, Renowned Theater Director, Passes Away

Iranian media, citing the family of Pary Saberi, reported that this renowned theater director of Iran passed away on Tuesday, September 20. The announcement of the artist's death, who had been ill for several years, was made on Wednesday, September 21. Pary Saberi was born in 1932 in Kerman and was one of the veteran theater directors in Iran, receiving the Legion of Honor, France's highest distinction, in 2004. She had traveled to France and Spain in her youth for education and work, returning to Iran in the 1960s to establish the 'Pazargad' theater group. She also founded the Molavi Hall near Tehran University, which served as a venue for impactful performances for several generations. In 1963, Saberi directed the play 'Six Characters in Search of an Author' by Luigi Pirandello, in which the prominent contemporary poet Forough Farrokhzad also acted. After the Islamic Revolution, this theater director left Iran but returned after some time, staging plays such as 'Shams the Bird', 'Where Am I From, Where is Love From', 'Seven Cities of Love', 'The Heart Garden', 'The Recluse', 'Layla and Majnun', 'The Seven Labors of Rostam', and 'Rostam and Esfandiar'. In her pre-revolution career, she appeared in two significant films of the Iranian artistic cinema movement, including 'Brick and Mirror' by Ebrahim Golestan and 'The Hunchback Night' directed by Farah Ghafari, both made in the 1960s. Contemporary painter Farah Osuli, in an interview with Radio Farda, states that Pary Saberi made theater appealing to the middle class of Iranian society. Osuli, who has participated in several of Saberi's performances, describes her as a postmodern artist at a time when this topic was not yet a focal point. She considers Saberi a tireless and fighting woman who experienced philosophical despair during the revolution but never retreated; an artist who introduced a new grammar into Iranian theatrical literature with plays like 'Joseph and Zuleikha', 'Where Am I From, Where is Love From', and 'Antigone', showcasing a multifaceted artistic identity.