Women/Life/Freedom event at Bristol Old Vic June 9th

9th June Bristol Old Vic, Weston Studio 

Actors : Jacob Daniels, Maryam Davary, Sara Amini, Roxana Vilk and Issam Al Ghussain

Extract from ‘Pink/Blue’ by Sanaz Bayan 

Sanaz Bayan, born in 1983 in Tehran, is an Iranian playwright and director. She has a B.A in dramatic literature from Tehran Azad University. Bayan started writing and directing for the stage in 2001, and since 2010 has also translated and written articles on theatre, mostly on Henrik Ibsen.  She has by now directed over 10 plays on Iranian and international stages. All her plays address social challenges or women's issues. In ‘Pink/Blue’, which is what she calls a ‘documentary play’ based on first hand interviews, she explores sexism, judgement and cruelty towards women and the LGBTQIA+ community in Iranian society.

Extract from ‘Tomorrow is Faraway’ by Faranak Heidarian

Faranak Heidarian is a writer and translator born in November 1981 in Tehran. She started her career as an actor, working on both stage and screen. Having written stories and plays from the age of 18, she then moved on to writing and directing professionally. Heidarian was born in the middle of the Iran/Iraq war, which influenced her deeply. The impact of war, especially on children, is a central theme in ‘Tomorrow is Faraway’.

Extract from ‘The Language of Wild Berries’  by Anonymous 

Extract from ‘From the Basement to the Roof’ by Mahin Sadri 

Mahin Sadri is an Iranian Playwright, Theatre and Cinema Director, Scriptwriter and Journalist. ‘From the Basement to the Roof’ explores the lives of a group of musicians who live in the same building. It is inspired by the true story of the Yellow Dogs, an Iranian band who sang in English and played Western instruments, which was illegal in Iran, and who gained international recognition after performing in Bahman Ghobadi's Cannes’ Un Certain Regard award-winning film, ‘No One Knows About Persian Cats’. 

Directed by Roxana Vilk 

Lighting and sound: Hugo Dodsworth

Stage Manager: Anna Freire Camacho

Producers for Bristol Old Vic Ferment: Ben Atterbury & Tanya Follett

HUGE Thanks to Sam Saeedipoor at  Aid Box Community, Tabitha Ross, Cairo Sealey, Peter Vilk and all the team at Bristol Old Vic