“Manus” will Run at Adelaide Theater Festival 2019
Iran Theater-“Manus” which is designed and directed by Nazanin Sahamizadeh will attend in Adelaide Theater Festival 2019.
Iran Theater-“Manus” which is designed and directed by Nazanin Sahamizadeh will attend in Adelaide Theater Festival 2019.
It’s a doc-theater that will goes on stage on 7-10 March at the festival.
“Manus” which is written by Laila Hekmat Nia and KaivanSereshteh is about the life of eight Iranian refugees who were arrested on the way to Australia via the ocean by the government and imprisoned in Manus island and Nauru. Nazanin Sahami Zadeh has explored the reasons for the immigration of the people and what they had gone through during their detention in the islands.
“Manus” went on stage at The 36th Fajdr International Theater Festival and had public performances at Qashqai Theater Hall.
It has attended many foreign festivals. But it’s the first Iranian Show that will run at Adelaide Theater Festival 2019.
Manus is rough, agit-prop theatre in which interviews with Iranian asylum seekers still in limbo on Manus and Nauru are relayed verbatim by a cast of eight. The information presented may not be new to everyone, but what makes it explosive is that this is an all-Iranian company performing in Persian, and, apart from short seasons in Bangladesh and India, it has never been seen outside Tehran.
For director Nazanin Sahamizadeh the importance of taking her play, in which the main character is based on Kurdish journalist Behrouz Boochani (now entering his sixth year in detention), to Australian audiences cannot be overstated. She had to brave the opprobrium of authorities at home in Iran (who are, to say the least, “sensitive” to claims of persecution there) to raise awareness of Australia’s offshore detention regime. The thought that it’s even more “underground” in our democracy is blush-inducing.
It may not be easy to watch but the white hot ardour and authenticity of this piece make it a must see.