Tehran Vahdat Hall stage is undergoing dramatic changes to host a performance of the internationally-acclaimed play ‘Hamlet’ directed by the renowned German theater director Thomas Ostermeier on January 28-30.
One of the plays in the international section of the 34th Fajr International Theater Festival (FITF), ‘Hamlet’ will be competing with 15 other plays from Hungary, Poland, Georgia, Japan, Spain, Norway, Belgium, Iraq and Iran, Mehr News Agency reported.
Ostermeier’s play is a new adaptation of ‘Hamlet’, written by the prominent English dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616), which has been modernized to suit today’s audience and will be performed with a huge set design.
A group of 14 theater technicians are currently installing 15 tons of accessories and equipment on Vahdat Hall stage to make it ready for the ‘Hamlet’ performance. Since the play needs special lighting, a total of 100 projectors will be used to beam light on different corners of the stage. All the equipment and materials used in the decor have been moved in from Germany.
Staging classical pieces since 2004 in the world, gained Ostermeier international recognition as one of Germany’s leading young directors. His 2008 production of Hamlet won numerous international awards including the Best International Production of 2011, and the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2011.
Born in Soltau, Germany, Ostermeier, 47, has been resident director and member of the Artistic Direction of the Schaubuhne, the famous theater in the Wilmersdorf district of Berlin, since 1999.
This is the first time a globally acclaimed theater group is performing in Iran.
The FITF was inaugurated on January 22, and will conclude on February 1, the first day of the Ten-Day Dawn Festivities that mark the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.
