Chinese festival to stage Iranian puppet shows

Two Iranian theater troupes are scheduled to perform puppet shows in the 2012 edition of the UNIMA Congress and World Puppet Festival in China. Moaser Theater Group’s Macondo and Arian Theater Group’s Girls from the Gardens of Carpet will be staged at the event. Macondo directed by Azadeh Ansari is based on a story written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez named A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings. The play recounts the story of an old man who appears for taking the sick children on Earth, but is surrounded by storm and therefore with broken wings falls down on Earth. He then causes some strange events to happen that influence the lives of people. Afsaneh Zamani’s Girls from the Gardens of Carpet is about a carpet weaver girl who loses the plan for her mother’s carpet. About 60 theater groups will take part in the festival presenting 180 performances altogether during the event. The festival aims to display excellent cultural elements, to lead art innovation, to initiate an art gala for citizens and to build a platform for exchange and friendship. UNIMA (Union Internationale de la Marionette - International Puppetry Association) is a Non-Governmental organization affiliated with UNESCO, which was founded in 1929 in Prague, Czech Republic. The 21st UNIMA Congress and World Puppet Festival will kick off in Chengdu, China on May 27 and will run until June 3, 2012.