5 till 12 August 2021

Songs for no one

Nastaran Razawi Khorasani | NL

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Secret exchanges, hushed pasts and present, hushed dreams and talents - untold stories tend to remain undiscovered. Unheard voices tend to die a quiet death. The performance Songs for no one is a portrait of a hidden society. Based on telephone conversations with a boy and a girl living in the Islamic dictatorship of Iran, Nastaran created a visual solo performance full of duets, dialogues, poems and songs. The voices of the two children in the ancient Persian language show what usually remains invisible.

Location Verkadefabriek/Kleine zaal
Running time 90 min.
Genre Theatre

Khorasani won the BNG Bank Incentive Award in 2020 with her pitch for this performance, but her ambition extends further. Nastaran wants to give the stage to those who have no voice and thus make us rethink what freedom is.
Nastaran: 'How can I literally and figuratively share my stage with people who don't have access to it? That question is my underlying motivation for this project. I am aware of my privileges and feel more than ever a responsibility to stand up for those who cannot. As a refugee, I left my childhood in Iran behind. In Europe I live in freedom, but I now identify strongly with the youngest generation of children in Iran. I want to bring out their voices that otherwise would not be heard.”

What does it mean to live in a dictatorship? What thoughts and hopes are the young generation holding up with? Songs for no one is about the vulnerability of freedom, about lack of freedom in everyday life and about dreams of freedom for the future.

 

‘How can I literally and figuratively share the stage with people who don’t have access to it? That question was my underlying motive for this project. I am aware of my privileges and more than ever, feel the responsibility to stand up for those who cannot. As a refugee, I left my childhood in Iran. In Europe, I live in freedom, but I strongly identify with the youngest generation of children in Iran. I want to give expression to their voices, which would otherwise remain unheard.’

Nastaran Razawi Khorasani 

 

Credits

concept & performance Nastaran Razawi Khorasani
music Jimi Zoet
dramaturgy Tobias Kokkelmans
scenography and lights Peter van Til (BrotherTill)
production Vivianne Jorritsma
technician André Goos (Denzo Theater Techniek)
marketing Dieke van der Spek

photo Mostafa Heravi
graphic design and image processing Maartje de Groot
coach Suzan Boogaerdt
costume advice Rebekka Wörmann
produced by Kobe Collectief
co-producers BNG Bank Theaterprijs 2020, Maas theater en dans, Theaterfestival Boulevard in collaboration with Het Nationele Theater, We Are Public, Worspacebrussels

Theaterfestival Boulevard thanks:
  • Gemeente 's-Hertogenbosch
  • Provincie Noord-Brabant
  • Fonds Podiumkunsten
  • Brabant C
  • VSBfonds
  • Fonds21
  • BankGiro Loterij
  • Cultuurfonds
  • Creative Europe Programme (EU)
  • De Versterking
  • Verkadefabriek
  • Theater aan de Parade
  • Apap
  • Performing Gender
  • Feminist Futures