Royal Court Theatre presents Sokhan Begoo / Speak Up amplifying Iranian voices
Against a backdrop of national protests, feminist rebellions and a nationwide fight for freedom following the death of Mahsa Amini and many more women at the hands of Iranian police, it has never been more important to give marginalised Iranian voices a platform.
In recognition of this the Royal Court Theatre will present, on December 2, a range of Iranian playwrights.
Sokhan Begoo / Speak Up is a a night of readings amplifying the voices of contemporary Iran.
This project was made in collaboration with Sepy Baghaei and Diyan Zora and aims to shed light on the diversity of voices that exist in Iranian community.
Sepy Baghaei and Diyan Zora said: “As we both took in the footage coming out of Iran during the recent protests, we were struck by a common request that kept appearing in the social media posts of the brave Iranians risking their lives: to be their voice. So, we thought about the many different voices that exist in Iran, voices which we perhaps hadn’t heard as much in the media, women, ethnic minorities, and the LGBTQ+ community, for instance.
“For Sokhan Begoo, we’ve brought together a diverse line-up of Iranian playwrights, both in Iran and the diaspora, whose work addresses bold and challenging themes – from the subjugation of women and queer people, to the West’s involvement in the Islamic Revolution, to the risks taken by Iranian artists to reclaim freedom of expression.”
Pictured: Sepy Baghaei Picture: Simeon Qsyea