Shirmarz, Hamid Samandarian, Sadreddin Zahed, Parwiz Sayyād, etc. The 1960s was a time of great artistic and literary output in Iran, fueled by a new generation of Iranian writers, artists, and intellectuals. A modern form of Iranian playwriting grew out of this movement, led by the luminaries Bahram Beyzai, Akbar Radi, Ali Nassirian, and Bijan Mofid. These playwrights found inspiration in the works of Samuel Beckett, Bertolt Brecht, Eugène Ionesco, and their contemporaries, although their work also builds on Persian styles such as puppetry, ru howzi, and naghali. The first Iranian school of theatre, Madrese-ye Ta'atr-i Shahrdari, was opened in 1939 by a collection of Iranian theatre artists, and other schools soon followed. In 1964, the Faculty of Dramatic Arts was established, which became the first institution of higher education in Iran to offer a diploma equivalent to a Bachelor's degree. In 1965, the University of Tehran created the Faculty of Theatre, which finally incorporated theatrical pedagogy within already existing Iranian universities. The theatre program at the University of Tehran was particularly successful, and its influence can be seen throughout contemporary Iranian theatre-making. The Faculty of Theatre hired several U.S. drama professors to craft the program, with classes in acting, directing, theatre history, and design, and a focus on the Western dramatic cannon. The university setting provided increased opportunities for theatrical experimentation, and out of this emerged a strong tradition of Iranian theatre direction. Hamid Samandarian, Ali Rafii, and Pari Saberi are among the most active and influential of this first generation of modern Iranian directors, and their theatre backgrounds all derive from a mixture of both experience and pedagogy within Iran and Europe. After the Iranian Revolution (1979–present day) Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the fate of this new modern theatre tradition became uncertain. Theatrical activity dramatically decreased during the devastating Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s, and aside from the occasional production, this burgeoning Iranian theatrical scene did not resurface until the 1990s. Theatre under the Islamic Republic of Iran is governed by the Dramatic Arts Center and its umbrella organization, the Vizarate Farhang va Irshade Islami (Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance). The government-controlled agency has been criticized for its censorship of artists and ideas that are believed to be "Anti-Islamic" or in opposition to the political loyalties of the Iranian government. Nevertheless, Iranian theatre artists continue to navigate these regulations, and new works are flourishing, particularly in