Amir Reza Koohestani: AMID THE CLOUDS
Clouds above the Sava River
The performances of Amir Reza Koohestani, a young Iranian theatre director, who hasfor the last number of years been a regular guest on numerous European stages, withoften subtle stories about love, about relations between a man and a woman and about friendship. Koohestani’s dramas are full of emotions, realistic dialogues and dark glances, which can be regarded as physical contacts at the same time. In Iran, physical contact between a man and a woman on a stage is forbidden. In his per-formance “Amid the Clouds”, Koohestani tackled a politically and socially engaging subject: illegal migrations.
The story evolves within our immediate vicinity, at the frontier between Croatia and Slovenia. The two main actors tell us about their tragic fate, the loss of their families, motherland and their hopes. The common motif of thestory is water as a symbol of the sea or rivers, which have to be sailed or crossed inorder to reach the other side and find a new life or else perish there.
Written and directed by: Amir Reza Koohestani
Actors: Baran Hosari, Hassan Madjooni
Music: Ali Bahrami
Lighting: Farshid Mosadequ
Director’s assistant: Mahin Sadri
Stage manager: Mohammad Reza Hosseinzadeh
Stage assistant and tour manager: Pierre Reis
Executive production: Mehr Theatrical Group (Shiraz)
Production: Wiener Festwochen, KunstenFESTIVALdesArts
Co-production: Théatre de la Bastille
70 minutes