Koushk Jalali Awarded at Bosnia Festival

‘Robinson and Crusoe,’ a play written by Italian playwrights Nina Dintrona and Giacomo Ravicio, translated and directed by Iranian theater director Ali Reza Koushk Jalali, received the first prize in the ‘Content and Message’ category at Ketsenburg International Festival of Student Theater, July 27-August 7, at Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

A product of Ayna Theater Group, based in Tabriz, East Azarbaijan, ‘Robinson and Crusoe’ also received the Audience Choice Award at Ketsenburg Festival, Honaronline reported.

The play is an antiwar work conveying a message of peace. It has been staged in many Iranian cities, as well as in Ankara, Cologne and Manheim in the US.

Koushk Jalali, 59, has translated the play from original Italian. His translation is released by the Tehran-based Ghatreh Publication.

He lives in Cologne and has translated other literary works including ‘Burning Patience,’ a novel by Chilean writer Antonio Skarmeta, 76, and ‘The Government Inspector,’ a satirical play by Russian dramatist Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852).

The play is inspired by the famous novel ‘Robinson Crusoe’ written by English writer, merchant and journalist Daniel Defoe (1659-1731). It is the story of two soldiers, Robinson and Crusoe, cast away on a deserted island. In Koushk Jalali’s play, the two roles are played by Sirous Mostafa and Ali Fotouhi.

Each soldier is considered an enemy of the other. At first they try to kill each other, but eventually build a friendly connection. The play deals with the presumptions and perceptions people have about others.

The purpose of Ketsenburg International Festival of Student Theater, hosted by the city of Banja Luka, is to create an environment for cooperation and exchange of experience between Bosnian and art students and theater practitioners from around the world.

It seeks to promote intercultural discourse and help remove stereotypes and prejudices between young people from different cultures and historical backgrounds.