Mobarak Puppet Theater Festival unveils intl. lineup

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TEHRAN – The 19th edition of the Mobarak Puppet Theater Festival announced its lineup for the international competition on Tuesday.Seven
performances will be staged by troupes from Turkey, Georgia, Mexico, Armenia, Peru and Brazil during the festival, which opens in Tehran on
Thursday.“Treasure Island” by Brazilian director Fábio Superbi is among the puppet shows. It tells an adventure-filled story
reminiscent of tales of heroes and their trials
Jim, an 11-year-old brave adventurer meets an old sea wolf, wins a treasure map, sails the seas on a huge ship, faces pirates, overcomes the
dangers of a desert island, finds a ghost and finally discovers his treasure.Renowned Georgian puppeteer Elene Matskhonashvili will attend
the festival with the biographical plays “Pirosmani” and “Niko Nikoladze”.“Pirosmani” portrays the tragic life story of the
great Georgian artist, Niko Pirosmani, who died in a basement.In her second puppet show, Matskhonashvili centers on Niko Nikoladze, a
Georgian writer, pro-Western enlightener, and public figure primarily known for his contributions to the development of Georgian liberal
journalism and his involvement in various economic and social projects of that time.The lineup also includes “The Magic Lamp” by Cengiz
Özek from Turkey.It is a stage adaptation of “Thumbelina”, a literary fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen.Hacivat finds
a lamp and takes it to Karagoz to have it cleaned
Usually, a genie lives in old lamps
But this genie is not a bad genie
Karagoz is allowed to ask whatever he wants
He has only 3 wishes
However, Karagoz is so indecisive that he shrinks to the size of a thumb
Poor Karagoz comes across giants; a crow, a frog, a snake, a mole, a rat and a stork
He asks every one of them about his lamp, but not everybody has good intentions
And from the clouds to the earth, through water, under bad weather conditions his adventure waits for him
In the end the gold-hearted genie saves him from this situation
Karagoz returns to his normal height and uses his wishes for his friends’ happiness and health.Peruvian directors Ines Pasic and Hugo
Suárez will stage “Body Rhapsody”.It is a picturesque parade of funny characters who, in the brief moments of their existence on the
stage, try to capture those little poetic moments that are hidden in daily life
These characters, with their dreams and frustrations, with their successes and failures, tell us about the eternal drama of the human
tragicomedy.The also features “Birds Are Eternal” by Antonio Camacho Oropeza from Mexico and “Swan Lake” by Samson Movsesyan from
Armenia.This year’s festival plans to honor veteran puppeteers Hassan Dadashgar and Homa Jeddikar with lifetime achievement awards.Photo:
A file photo shows Georgian director Elene Matskhonashvili’s troupe performing “Pirosmani”.MMS/YAW