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30 Bird Productions present: The World Premiere
of THE PERSIAN REVOLUTION Celebrating their 10th anniversary, 30 Bird Productions present the World premiere of THE PERSIAN REVOLUTION by Mehrdad Seyf at Lyric Hammersmith from 26 September 14 October. Press Night 28 September
The constitutional revolution was the first event of its kind in the Middle East; it was covered by the press worldwide and gave rise to issues, which are still being debated today. 100 years on The Persian Revolution is a contemporary interpretation of the exciting events surrounding the establishment of the first parliament and constitution in Iran in 1906. The play travels through layers of time and across the decades. From the vaudeville halls of 19th Century England to a corner of Tehran where a child avidly reads the adventures of Tintin. America lands on the moon whilst an Islamic cleric searches the sky for God and children learn about the electoral law of 1906. The sound of the Revolution encroaches upon everyday life as the East awakens and takes its first tentative steps towards a democratic government. In this dark comedy Mehrdad Seyf brings an anarchic surrealist humour to these momentous events where politics, religion, love, satire, sanitation and civil war go hand in hand with the fragile establishment of the first secular parliament in the Middle East. The Anglo/Iranian Cast are ALI AMADI, DONALD SLACK, VISS ELLIOT, SARAH McNEALE, TAHMORES TEHRANI, directed by MEHRDAD SEYF design by LESLIE TRAVERS and lighting design by ANNA WATSON The Persian Revolution is the company¹s fifth theatre project to date and will further expose culturally diverse work to British audiences. Created by the team behind the critically acclaimed Majnoun - "Playful, absurdist and comicÐ (Majnoun) is impossible not to like" The Guardian, Death by Heroine - "An epic love story enriched by cinematic staging" Time Out, and the documentary but you speak such good English "- funny, poignant and a fine, accessible guide to the natures of both the exiled and their adoptive country" Time Out. Co produced by the Iran Heritage Foundation the play forms a major part of their Centenary Conference on The Iranian Constitutional Revolution 1906-1911. The Persian Revolution continues 30 Bird¹s quest to challenge the mis-representation of Iran in the West and to explore the meeting points between the East and the West. Using visual and textual material to develop new forms of theatrical expression 30 Bird aims to create surprise out of the ordinary. The Persian Revolution specifically focuses on the relationship between the law of the state and the law of God. MEHRDAD SEYF was born in Tehran and has lived in the UK since his teens and was educated at the Lycee Francais in Tehran and London. After studying Literature and Philosophy, he trained as a psychoanalyst at the Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research and subsequently worked for 3 years as an analyst. He trained as an actor/director with Complicite, Monica Pagneux, Rick Zoltoowski and Lorna Marshall. Mehrdad was assistant director to David Farr on the production of The Odyssey at Lyric Hammersmith. He has also recently written his first radio play, The Virgin, for Stages of Sound, an initiative organised by BBC Radio 4, Hampstead Theatre and Arts Council England to develop Plays for Radio by writers from culturally diverse backgrounds. Mehrdad has written and directed all of 30 Birds projects to date. Producer CLAIRE SUMMERFIELD trained as actor at Rose Bruford and with Complicite, Monica Pagneux, David Glass and De Le Guarda. She co-runs 30 Bird¹s Productions with Mehrdad Seyf and has produced all their work to date. LESLIE TRAVERS is an award winning designer whose work includes H. Marschner's opera Hans Haling (winner of the European Opera Competition), Swan Lake and The Nutcracker for K-Ballet Tokyo (Asahi Award winner for choreography & design); Silent Cry (WYP) Veriete (Lindsay Kemp Company World Tour) The Lark Ascending (ENB) For further press information/interviews/images please contact ee also websites http://www.g-c-a.co.uk and http://www.30birdproductions.org
The Persian Revolution
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