and impediments of such news agencies and media. There is no single area of culture and arts that has remained unscathed by the harassment of Ahmadinejad’s government, and the winter of 2011 has been no exception for theatre practitioners, as they have endured some of the most heavy-handed censorship and suppression in the history of the Islamic Republic.
Cultural Censorship in Iran
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In January 2011, Tehran’s City Theatre was forced to cancel their season of Hedda Gabler, the classic Henrik Ibsen play. The play had opened on January 5 and was banned six days later by Iranian authorities. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, Tehran’s chief prosecutor, stated that the play was ‘vulgar’ and ‘hedonistic’ and argued, “We should make society’s cultural atmosphere healthy. We will confront any activities that endanger the cultural security of society.”82 In response to the play’s ban, the managing board of the House of Theatre wrote a letter to Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, the Minister of Culture, informing him of the consequences of such heavy-handed censorship: “Recent events have been a serious blow to the job security and peace of mind of theatre practitioners.”83 The House of Theatre declared that as the only non-governmental union and the only legal recourse of theatre artists, it is obligated to pursue the violated rights of its members through legal channels. The banning of Hedda Gabler was one of the most significant instances of state intervention in Iranian theatre, and this occurrence demonstrates that the art form is under strict scrutiny and observation. The controversy surrounding Hedda Gabler started when Fars 82. Reuters, "›Hedonistic› Hedda Gabler Banned at Tehran Theatre," Reuters, January 12, 2011, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/12/us-stage-iranban-idUSTRE70B5PG20110112. 83. Kaleme, "Letter From the House of Theatre to the Culture Minister," Kaleme Website, January 17, 2011, http://www.kaleme.com/1389/10/27/klm-44040/.