Theater is a global art with regional roots: French stage director

TEHRAN, Feb.20(MNA) -- Renowned French stage director Jean-Louis Martinelli said that theater is a global art that has a regional foundation that artists can experience by meeting fellow artists working in other countries.

He made the remarks during one of the workshops he held for Iranian actors at the Nilufar Hall of the Iranian Artists Forum on Thursday during the 29th Fajr International Theater Festival.

He said that he is interested to learn of the ways through which the artists connect with each other all around the world in different situations.

Martinelli remarked that he lives in Nanterre, a town near Paris, which has immigrants from different nations, and he has written plays according to lives of these people. These plays, although, do not belong neither to folklore theater nor to intellectual drama.

He said that he has staged 30 plays, which were requested by French-Algerian playwrights. He has also coordinated plays with renowned playwright Lars Norén, whose works were staged in different European countries.

Lars Norén is a Swedish playwright, novelist and poet. He is considered one of Sweden’s most prominent contemporary playwrights today. His plays are realistic and often revolve around family relations and the impoverished, and directed toward the bottom of society.

Martinelli emphasized the poetic translation of theater and he said that the actors should express themselves through the roles they play.

He explained the story in the “Kliniken” play, written by Norén, and asked the participating actors to portray the characters by expressing themselves in the performance.

The French cultural attaché to Tehran Jean-Claude Voisin attended the workshop.