Leili & Majnun
A dynamic staging of the celebrated Persian poet Nizami’s timeless tale of star-crossed lovers featuring live music and Persian poetry.
This fall brings a dynamic staging of Leili & Majnun, celebrated Persian poet Nizami’s timeless tale of star-crossed lovers, written and directed by Torange Yeghiazarian and featuring an ensemble of Middle Eastern-American actors, singers and musicians. Music composed by Sirvan Manhoobi, Scenic design and painting by Mokhtar Paki. Performance is in English with Persian poetry. December 5-15, 2024 at Central Stage (5221 Central Avenue, Richmond, CA) Performs Wednesdays–Saturdays at 8pm, and on Sunday, December 15 at 3pm Tickets ($25-$50) are available at CentralStage.org
THE LANGUAGE OF WILD BERRIES by Naghmeh Samini, translated and directed by Torange Yeghiazarian. US premiere (2022) by Golden Thread Productions, featuring Zaya Kolya, Damien Seperi and Dina Zarif. Donya and Davood celebrate their wedding anniversary by traveling to the same sea side town where they spent their honeymoon. But on this trip, their 10th anniversary, a mysterious young man is following them. Trying to solve the mystery of the young man throws Donya and Davood into a time warp recalling their past nine anniversary trips. They remember what they have forgotten. But will that be enough to save their marriage?
OH MY SWEET LAND by Amir Nizar Zuabi, featuring Nora El Samahy. Called “extraordinary” by the San Francisco Chronicle, the performances were staged at Bay Area home and community kitchens in 2017 and 2018. In the tour-de-force solo show, based on interviews with Syrian refugees in Jordan, a woman of mixed Syrian-German parentage recalls her encounter with Ashraf, a Syrian man in Paris, all the while preparing kibbeh, a Syrian delicacy. At Golden Thread, performances were followed with community conversations.
OUR ENEMIES: LIVELY SCENES OF LOVE AND COMBAT by Yussef El Guindi. “A powerful piece of political theatre brought to life by a superb ensemble through Yeghiazarian’s deft stage direction.” —Huffington Post. Produced by Golden Thread Productions in 2016, and featuring Munaf Alsafi, James Asher, Denmo Ibrahim, Kunal Prasad, Annemaria Rajala, and Salim Razawi.
SHELTER by Junichi P. Semitsu - An audio love poem from Hiroshima to Beirut to one mixed-race couple’s intertwined destinies. I love adapting poetry to the stage. In 2017, I adapted Junichi 's poem SHELTER in collaboration with sound designer James Ard and lighting designer Cassie Barnes to create a soundscape on Kate Boyd's beautiful scenic design. The voices featured are Shoresh Alaudini, Nida Fuad Khalil, and Mikiko Uesugi combining Japanese, Arabic, and English.
Theatre for Young Audiences - Drawing from traditional performance styles of the Middle East such as Naghali (epic story-telling), Ru-hozi (physical comedy by stock characters), Karagoz (shadow puppetry), and Hakawati (traveling story tellers), I create dynamic and colorful performances for the whole family.
