A musical puppet show ‘The Moon Player’, directed by Hossein Cheraghi is on stage at Golestan theatre hall of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA).
Adapted from a Russian story, the show is set in wide blue settings, made of paper and fabric. “As a symbol of water, the color blue is everywhere even in the actors’ outfits,” Mehr News Agency quoted Cheraghi as saying.
The main character in the story, Sadko is inspired by the lead character in the Russian medieval epic Bylina, and plays the gusli (the oldest Russian multi-string plucked instrument) on the shores of a lake. The Sea Tsar (mermen, the mythical male equivalent and counterpart of mermaids) enjoys his music, and offers to help him.
Sadko, as instructed, makes a bet with the local merchants about catching a specific fish in the lake; when he catches it (as provided by the Tsar), the merchants pay the wager, making him a rich man.
Sadko trades on the seas with his new wealth, but does not pay proper respects to the Tsar as per their agreement. The Tsar then stops Sadko’s ships from sailing in the sea. Learning his lesson, he and his sailors try to appease the Sea Tsar with gold, but to no avail. Sadko’s crew forces him to jump into the sea. There, he plays the gusli for the Sea Tsar, who offers him a bride.
Majid BourBour and Behnaz Mehdi Khah are the only two actors and puppeteers of the show. “The rest is a performance of music, light and shadow play,” the director said.
The play will run through February 4 at the institute, located at Laleh Park, Hejab St, Keshavarz Bldv., Tehran.
