In The Midst Of A Water Crisis, Iranians Turn To Theater

A puppet show set to music, dramatizing Iran’s worsening water crisis, will kick off during an international festival being held in the country later this month.
“Kamancheh, Water and Others,” a play directed by Alireza Nassehi, will be performed with the marotte puppets at the 17th International Mobarak Puppet Festival in Tehran, which runs from August 23-29.
The puppet show will be accompanied by songs from the American jazz artist Louis Armstrong, Azerbaijani musician Alim Qasimov, kamancheh player Keyhan Kalhor and vocalist Shahram Nazeri, who will be reciting a modern-day poem written by Sohrab Sepehri, titled “Don’t Muddy the Water.” The production tells the story of Mr.
Foot, a character who wastes a lot of water while taking a shower but is sent on a journey to find water one day after his shower water was abruptly cut.
The purpose of dramatization is to draw people’s attention to the worsening water crisis and drought in Iran, a Caspian region country that has been struggling with severe water shortages for decades.
Depending on the expert consulted, different reasons are offered for why Iran suffers from so much of a shortage: Reasons cited include climate change, rapid population growth and overuse of water, wasteful agriculture practices, mismanagement, and poor planning.
An estimated 37 million Iranians in a country of 80 million people are said to be living in water-stressed areas.
According to local media reports, protesters took to the streets in Mahshahr city on July 2 to express support for the residents of nearby Khorramshahr, who have been protesting shortages of drinking water over the past days.
With lower water levels within Iranian dams, the country’s ability to generate electricity through its hydropower plants has reached a maximum output of 5,000 MW this summer, far lower than last year’s figure of 9,300 MW, according to IRIB News Agency.
During the protests over the lack of drinking water and power shortages, rumors have swarmed that Iranian water and electricity is being exported to neighboring countries.

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