Yalda
Written by Mehrdad Seyf
2008
Screenings and broadcast
BFI NFT1, London, 10 March 2008, 18:30
BBC Radio 4 92-95FM & 198LW, 19-20 March 2008, 14:15
For those of you who missed the screening of Yalda at the NFT, you can still catch it on the BBC Film Network.
“Do you love me?”, “Yes”, he said, and then…
A colourful musical journey into […]
The Persian Revolution
by Mehrdad Seyf
September to October 2006
Lyric Hammersmith
The year is 1906 or so it seems. The Iranian Monarchy is about to succumb to the will of the people. The Constitutional Revolution is gaining pace and the establishment of the first parliament is imminent. Witty and haunting, The Persian Revolution is a modern-day take […]
The Persian Revolution
by Mehrdad Seyf
23 October–8 December 2007
National Tour
The year is 1906 or so it seems and revolution is in the air. The Iranian monarchy is about to succumb to the will of the people as the country takes its first tentative steps towards democracy.
Following the sell-out success of Majnoun, 30 Bird embark on a […]
by Mehrdad Seyf
Iran: no booze, no sex, no techno?
Majnoun blasts the Western image of Iran through the roof in a surreal and comic collision of images, music and text. 30 Bird exposes the relationship between Iran and the West, the role of women, the veil and the modernisation that swept the country during the 20th Century. A soundscape of popular Iranian and English music, a non-narrative structure, and sculptural design reflect the fragmented results of the peculiar marriage between modernism and tradition.
The Maids
by Jean Genet
October 2001
Studio Voltaire and Kingston Festival
Solange and Claire, servant sisters, both love and loath their mistress. As the play begins ‘Madame’ cruelly ridicules her devoted servant, Solange. But, as the drama unfolds we realise all is not as it seems. The deadly game of cat and mouse has begun. Claire plays Solange, Solange plays Claire, they both play Madame. As the tension rises the boundaries between fantasy and reality become blurred until the sisters are not sure where one begins and the other ends. In Madame’s absence the maids hatch a plot to rid themselves of their mistress, but on her return they revert back to their subservient roles and their plans of murder seem dashed. As the evening and game draw to a close who will be the victor?
but you speak such good English
by Parisa Taghizadeh - Marjan Safinia, 30 Bird Productions
Documentary
25 mins.
1999
but you speak such good English is a half hour documentary, which explores different aspects of the first generation Iranian immigrant experience from the insider’s perspective. The film focuses on the younger generation, who has very few memories of their country, and yet feels an undeniable pull towards identifying themselves as Iranians. The film is a fast paced and above all very entertaining look at the issues of ethnicity and separation told from the point of view of four dynamic and funny characters, including the stand-up comic, Omid Djalili.
Death by Heroine
by Mehrdad Seyf
Riverside Studios
February 1998
Black and white movies, love rebellion. Tehran in 1951, a cosmopolitan city on the brink of change. Two couples, Mammad and Minou, Parviz and Lily struggle to preserve their love in turbulent times.
The Parable of the Blind
Adapted from the Gert Hofman novel by Mehrdad Seyf
Brixton Shaw Theatre
June 1996
Six blind men look for the painter’s house where they will be painted walking, stumbling and falling into a ditch, in slow motion. The Parable of the Blind is a comic meditation on language, art, and human pain.
Majnoun