AMIR REZA KOOHESTANI (IR)

A world in constant change, buffeted by conflict, war and various forms of discrimination. A world of differences, of armed struggles, in which the countries of the Middle East stand out from all the others, either because of cultural differences or because of intolerance to difference. Amir Reza Koohestani casts a contemporary eye over this Russian classic, using it to produce an in-depth theatrical reflection on the Iran of today. In this show, which won a best theatrical production award in Iran, and has been performed at various European venues, Ivanov is alone, a solitary figure facing an unravelling (perhaps inconsequential) revolution. A look at a world without a future, in which there is just one question to be asked: what to do now, when nothing seems to have a clear-cut path? A vision of Iran reflected through various prisms, with each mirrored surface echoing back each of the European countries. 

Amir Reza Koohestani was born in 1978, in Shiraz, Iran. He was just 16 when local newspapers began publishing his short stories. Drawn to film, he took courses in cinema and film-making in 1995, which he never completed, and also directed two films. After a brief spell as an actor, he decided to apply himself to writing and directing plays. He wrote his first play, “And The Day Never Came”, in 1999, though it has never been performed. This was followed by “The Murmuring Tales” (2000), which was rapturously received by critics at the Fadjr International Theatre Festival in Tehran. However, it was his third play, “Dance On Glasses” (2001), which toured for four years, that earned Amir Reza Koohestani international recognition. He received the support of a number of European theatres and directors and has been able, since then, to take his work pretty much all over the world.