SILKA ZENDEH PRODUCTION

CREATED BY NAZLI TABATABAI-KHATAMBAKHSHWRITTEN BY STEVEN GAYTHORPE

DEVELOPED USING THE ZENDEH METHOD

TOURING AUTUMN 2017

CONTACT

Steven GaythorpeProducersteven@zendeh.com+44 (0) 7871 318 158

www.zendeh.com@ZENDEH_tweetswww.facebook.com/zendehcompanyCONTENTSPage 1 COVER *

2

Page 2 CONTACT

Page 3 CONTENTS

Page 4 SILK

Page 5 ZENDEH

Page 6 THE ZENDEH METHOD

Page 7 – 8 THE TEAM

Page 9 - 10 REVIEWS

Page 11 TOUR INFORMATION

Page 12 AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

Page 13 WORKSHOPS AND THE CREATIVE CASE

Page 14 THE ORIGINAL SILK

* holding image, not final production image

3

SILKSILK began as thread of an idea whilst our Artistic Director, Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh, was working between the UK and Iran. The crossing of borders and her childhood delight in tales told late into the night ignited the idea of SILK.

SILK begins when Sadaf is given saffron and a map of the Silk Road by her grandmother, so that she can go seek her fortune. The map shows the way to a great market where she can make her fortune by selling the saffron. But the Silk Road holds many dangers and wonders for a young girl, it is, after all, the road where her mother and father disappeared many years before.

On her journey Sadaf befriends a dragon and a phoenix and encounters a wicked djinn who wants to steal her precious map and saffron.

Weaving together Chinese, Iranian and Indian mythology this modern tale follows the adventures of a brave little girl along a voyage of discovery.

Telling stories is a long traditional in Iran, one festival in particular called Shabe Yalda takes place on the longest night of the year. It is a night of storytelling of generations gone by, feasting and reading poetry.

SILK was originally produced in partnership with Dance City as part of their Winter Festival in 2010.

Work on SILK began in March 2010 as part of a Dance City initiative called LabSpace, a residency period that allowed us to experiment with bringing together the storytelling practice of theatre, aerial, puppetry, and music.

The new version of SILK will use many of the themes and structure of the original but will be a brand new piece of work with new songs, new script, new design and new projections, new puppets, new aerial choreography and new music.

SILK has many stories running through it and we hope that our story finds its way into being a shared experience, to be recounted, again and again.

SILK is a new work for family audiences; combining choreography, puppetry and text. The show explores traditional myths and their modern counterparts from Iran (Zorastrian Mythology), China (Hei'an Zhuan) and India (Hindu).

Audience DevelopmentFor each venue that we visit we will develop a unique Audience Development Plan. In October 2016, a year before we begin our tour, we will employ a full time Audience Development Manager. One of their tasks will be to liaise with a local Community Choir that will be part of each of our performance in their local venue.

4

ZENDEH

“Connecting the personal with the political.”

Founded in 2004 in Edinburgh, and now based in Newcastle in the North of England since 2008, and with bases in Manchester, London and Internationally.

ZENDEH is a national and international touring Theatre Company based in Newcastle whose mission and enterprise is to independently analyze and promote the understanding of major international issues and current affairs through our eclectic original productions, workshops and training. Our philosophy is to, without judgment or intervention, provide diverse and mutually inspiring opportunities for people to reflect and explore their lives and see their journey.

The founder, Artistic Director (Chief Executive) of ZENDEH Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh, has over ten years been pioneering the trademark ZENDEH Method, placing equality of voice and the context of place at the heart of our creativity across borders.

ZENDEH is an award winning apolitical national touring theatre company. The themes of our productions, digital activities, workshops, training and residencies are developed through the lens of Britain’s relationship with Iran. These themes are Diaspora, Transnationalism, Migration, Internationalism, Borders, Justice and Gender Equality all inform and infuse our work.

ZENDEH has a reputation for making high quality, modern and relevant new work that has contemporary resonance through shedding a light on hidden histories.

Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh is a child of Diaspora and of the 1979 revolution that ushered in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This has a profound influence in the creation, circulation and distribution of our theatre work, placing Iran as a character in all of ZENDEH’s work.

ZENDEH TeamArtistic Director (CEO) Nazli Tabatabai-KhatambakhshProducer & Playwright Steven GaythorpeAdministrator Sian PattersonEducation Assistant Samantha ValeCreative Case Coordinator Louise TaylorChair of the Board of Directors Gez Casey (Live Theatre)

5

THE ZENDEH METHODDeveloped by Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh as a way to explore and expand the experience of creating theatre beyond the walls of the traditional studio-based methodology.

In essence The ZENDEH Method lays out a collaborative theatre creation process of experimentation, making, and touring that involves all the members of the creative and technical team, and the audience in the delivery of new work.

2017 TRANSIT – Touring Production (Northern Stage Newcastle, Arcola London, others TBC)

2016 TRANSIT – Works in Progress (Seven Stories, Theatre In The Mill Bradford, Northern Stage Newcastle)

2015 CINEMA – Touring Production (Tron Theatre Glasgow, Arcola Theatre London, Summerhall Edinburgh Festival Fringe, STUN Studio Z-Arts Manchester, Northern Stage Newcastle, Tristan Bates London)

2014 CINEMA – Works in Progress (West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds, Arts Centre Washington, Jabberwocky Market Festival Darlington, STUN Studio Z-Arts Manchester)

2014 HEART – Touring Production (Northern Stage Newcastle, Arts Centre Washington, Queen’s Hall Hexham, Middlesbrough Theatre, Berwick Maltings Cinema and Theatre, Traverse Theatre Edinburgh, The Lowry Salford, Tron Theatre Glasgow, Beacon Arts Centre Greenock, Ovalhouse London)

2013 HEART – Work in Progress (Northern Stage Newcastle, Ovalhouse London)

2012 FLOCK – Touring Production (Northern Stage Newcastle, Arts Centre Washington, Lamplight Stanley)

2012 FLOCK – Work in Progress (Northern Stage Newcastle)

2011 FOUND – Touring Production (Northern Stage Newcastle, Berwick Maltings Cinema and Theatre)

2011 FOUND – Work in Progress (Decibel Performing Arts Showcase, Contact Theatre Manchester)

2010 SILK – Winter Festival (Dance City Newcastle)

6

SILK TEAM

Director Nazli Tabatabai-KhatambakhshWriter Steven GaythorpeComposer Mariam RezaeiChoreographer Nadia IftkharProduction-Stage Manager Stacey Choudhury-Potter& Lighting Designer

Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh - DirectorNazli has since 2004 directed all of ZENDEH's productions and laboratories nationally, regionally and internationally. She has taken the work of the company to the Traverse Theatre, Theatre Workshop Edinburgh, Dance Base, Scotland's Theatre Gateway, Tron Theatre, Citizens Theatre, Beacon, Berwick Maltings, Gateshead Central Library, Northern Stage, Dance City, Arts Centre Washington, Queen’s Hall, The Lowry, STUN Studio Z-Arts, Young Vic, Arcola Theatre, Chapter Theatre, and The City Theatre of Tehran. She was awarded an Amnesty International Commendation Award for her production of Waiting Room by Isabel Wright at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Nazli has also performed in Nassim Soliemanpour’s White Rabbit Red Rabbit at Summerhall Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012, Cora Bisset’s Whatever Gets You Through The Night Edinburgh Hogmanay Festival 2014, David Leddy’s Horizontal Collaboration Travese Theatre Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014, Here is the News from Over there and Here is the News from Over Here Northern Stage Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015.

Steven Gaythorpe - PlaywrightSteven is an award-winning writer, who has written for film and stage. His work has been performed at Northern Stage, York Theatre Royal and The Byre St Andrews. His first commission for ZENDEH was Love’s Fire, which was performed at The Traverse in Edinburgh. For ZENDEH he has written SILK, FLOCK, HEART and CINEMA. His film work has been shown at The Leeds International Film Festival.

Mariam Rezaei – ComposerMariam is a writer and performer and works primarily with multiple turntables, piano and electronics. For the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, Mariam composed music using graphic scores for a 14 turntable ensemble of young people, Noisestra, to perform with new music ensemble Apartment House for an hour long show at The Sage Gateshead. Mariam composed and performed as part of 'Jig Hop' (a Folk and Hip hop collaboration) with Kathryn Tickell and Folkestra for the BT River of Music Opening of the London Olympics 2012, Trafalgar Square.

7

Nadia Iftkhar – ChoreographerNadia Iftkhar is a professional dance artist based in the North East. She has over 10 years’ experience working in a variety of community and professional settings, including work with companies such as; Surface Area Dance Theatre, ZENDEH, Talawa Young People’s Theatre and Janice Parker Projects. To date she has made and collaborated on over 20 works that have been performed at Northern Stage, Maltings Berwick, Sadlers Wells, Dance City, Konzerthaus Wien, Theatre Royal Newcastle, MuTh and SommerTheatre Detmold.

Stacey Choudhury-Potter – Production & Stage Manager, Lighting DesignerStacey Choudhury-Potter's natural meticulous nature makes her ideal for the role of Production/Stage Manager. Her quirky sense of humour eases both cast and director alike. Stacey has worked on productions such as Hearts core directed by Cheryl Martin, Baby Balloon by Oily cart, and Square Bubble directed by Marianne Badrichani, as well as stage managing experimental performances at the late, great green room in Manchester. She has worked on two productions to date with ZENDEH, and CINEMA was her first professional Lighting Designer credit.

8

REVIEWSCINEMA

Three Weeks ★★★★ An ingenious piece of multimedia theatre which interweaves video projections and sound clips, 'Cinema' aims to show the impact of the political upon the personal, to do justice to the individuals caught in the wider narrative of history. The play takes as its focal point the 1978 arson attack upon an Iranian cinema that constituted the gravest terrorist attack pre 9/11, killing five hundred people. This attack against the influence of western culture changed the course of history, triggering the Iranian revolution. Playing with the theme of story-telling and referencing 'One Thousand and One Nights', the stories of the victims of the attack are told by one of the sole survivors; the cinema's in-house cat Scheherazade.

Edinburgh Festivals Magazine ★★★★ Like Scheherazade in One Thousand and One Nights, Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh seductively spins her tale that begins with the innocence of childhood, and ends in the Shah’s reign of terror in the blackened shell of a cinema, where four hundred innocent people have been deliberately burned to death.

Composer Mariam Rezaei’s powerful score and Matt Jamie’s beautiful video projections provide a haunting backdrop to this powerful poetic fable.

The List★★★★ Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh’s subtle and affecting performance wheels easily between a wondrous disbelief at the cruelty of events and a homespun glee at the simple pleasure of an overflowing saucer or the warmth of a cushion up in the projection booth. Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh’s performance crackles with tenderness as she recounts each of her lives snuffed out amid the bustle and noise of an Iran torn between eastern and western identity.

Steven Gaythorpe’s text inter-cuts taut passages that give a wider picture, with vivid stories of the individuals who sought excitement and intimacy within the flickering light of the cinema Rex. An effective piece of political theatre, CINEMA relishes the allegorical wisdom of its feline storyteller and manages to explore the implicit and explicit political dimensions of its powerful story.

ZENDEH’s understated production rings with warmth and humanity. It unites the political and the personal through the unlikely eyes of a cat whose own attempts at survival are thwarted by a violent schism that will come to define the modern western perception of Iran.

HEART

9

The Scotsman… an immensely rich and thoughtful show about imperialism and its strange sexual undercurrents; and about the importance of the creative impulse in defying the arrogance of power, as the poet is crushed and destroyed, but his words live on.

British Theatre Guide… a multi-layered piece, mingling the Romeo and Juliet-like story of doomed love with international Realpolitik through a number of theatrical techniques which director Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh blends seamlessly and effectively together.

It demands a lot of the cast and they deliver, drawing the audience into a world which is distant in time (and, to a large extent, in place) and yet, in the political sense, very contemporary for behind the international machinations lies that enduring problem, oil.

Remote Goat★★★★ The production is beautifully stylised and stunningly directed... a haunting piece of art… Serena Manteghi gives an outstanding and captivating performance... simply superb.

Female Arts★★★★ Beautiful language and subtle movement paired with compelling drama leave you feeling full as you exit the theatre, which is ironic, as moments before we have watched on as Leili leaves behind both her empty cage and empty heart, a freed, but not free nightingale.

FLOCK

British Theatre GuideFLOCK creates a world which is distant from us in time, in place and in its very texture. By lifting us out of the mundane—for these three children, in spite of their supernatural origins, are ordinary—it enables us to look at their lives and aspirations from a different perspective. The performances are well-judged, each character well developed and fitting into both perspectives, and the whole mise-en-scène subtle and supportive.

10

FOUND

British Theatre GuideReminiscent in some ways of the work of Pina Bausch and of some European (particularly Easter European) physical theatre, it uses text, dance, music, digital projection, soundscape and mise-en-scene to communicate with the audience, producing some beautiful visual and auditory moments.

Tony Panayiotou, Director, Diversity, Arts Council EnglandA really moving piece, with an ambiance of surreal fragility - which to me more than any other theatre piece really showed the actors' and writers' craft at its best.

SILK

Evening ChronicleEnchanting tale is pure escapism ... A brave new world of mixed-up genres ... an incredible journey ... super show ...

11

TOUR INFORMATIONNumber of People on Tour8 (5 Performers, 1 Production/Stage Manager, 1 Director, 1 Producer)

Running TimeThe show will play for 90 minutes*, with one interval.

Please note that the production is in development and more information will be available in October 2106.

*TBC

12

WORKSHOPSWe offer a broad range of organisations different levels of training; from drama making workshops in formal and informal settings including schools, colleges, and universities, to writing workshops in community groups to team building workshops in corporate organisations.

When we are on tour we offer workshops on our set to groups and organisations that have seen the show as part of our audience development programme.

Creative Case Equalities TrainingThe Creative Case is a re-imagining of the Arts Council's approach to diversity and equality, setting out how these areas can and should enrich the arts for artists, audiences and our wider society.

"Our definition of diversity encompasses responding to issues around race, ethnicity, faith, disability, age, gender, sexuality, class and economic disadvantage and any social and institutional barriers that prevent people from participating in and enjoying the arts. We are turning our focus from remedying past imbalances towards celebrating diversity positively, with all the artistic and creative opportunities it offers."

ZENDEH offer consultation, mentoring and training in Creative Case, equality and creative engagement and practice that can also illustrate and actively support your practice and process.

Curated Talks ProgrammeWorking with our tour venues we curate post show discussion panels, these are themed with the show and highlight local artists, experts, enthusiasts, and academics.

13

THE ORIGINAL SILK

ORIGINAL TEAM

Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh (Director)

14

Steven Gaythorpe (Writer)Mona McCarthy (Aerial Consultant)Apple Yang (Movement Consultant)Andy Playford (Digital Visual Artist)Gayle Playford (Costume and Make-up)Brendon Murphy (Percussionist)Karen Traynor (Actor – Sadaf)Eleanor Beveridge (Aerialist – Dragon)Tom Walton (Puppeteer/Performer – Phoenix/Merchant)

15

16