Participation of a Bulgarian Theater Troupe in the Prestigious Iranian International Theater Festival
In the period February 6-11, 2022, the Azaryan Theater formation at the National Palace of Culture and the Den Gray Foundation participated in the international panel of the 40th anniversary Iranian Fajr Theater Festival. The troupe, consisting of sixteen prominent Bulgarian artists such as Dobrin Dosev, Velislav Pavlov, Zhana Rasheva, Sevar Ivanov, Ralitsa Stoyanova, Vasil Ryahov, Rosen Mihailov, musician Marina Velikova and NBU students, was in Tehran at the festival's invitation. The participation was realized with the support of the Iranian side and the Bulgarian Embassy in Tehran, given the program of the mission to mark the 125th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Iran.
On February 6, 2022, the troupe opened an international panel of the festival, giving two performances of the play "Shahnameh - A Tale of the Hall" directed by Elena Panayotova, based on the work of Persian classical poet Abolgasem Ferdousi.
At the opening, the Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ms. Nikolina Kuneva, welcomed the present representatives of Iranian cultural circles and Iranian officials. In the context of celebrating the 125th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Iran, she described the play as a good example of bilateral cultural dialogue and as a theatrical interpretation, bringing together fragments of Bulgarian and Iranian cultural traditions.