The Persian Revolution @ The Lyric

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World Premiere forms part of Lyric’s eclectic and challenging season of theMIX.

Celebrating their 10th anniversary, 30 Bird Productions return to the Lyric following their sell-out show Majnoun in 2006 with the World Premiere of The Persian Revolution as part of the Lyric’s eclectic and challenging season of theMIX.

The Constitutional Revolution was the first event of its kind in the Middle East; it was covered by the press worldwide and gave rise to issues that are still being debated today. 100 years on, The Persian Revolution is a contemporary interpretation of the exciting events surrounding the establishment of the first parliament and constitution in Iran in 1906.

The play travels through layers of time and across the decades; from the vaudeville halls of 19th Century England to a corner of Tehran where a child avidly reads the adventures of Tintin. America lands on the moon whilst an Islamic cleric searches the sky for God and children learn about the electoral law of 1906. The sound of the Revolution encroaches upon everyday life as the East awakens and takes its first tentative steps towards a democratic government.

In this dark comedy Mehrdad Seyf brings an anarchic surrealist humour to these momentous events where politics, religion, love, satire, sanitation and civil war go hand in hand with the fragile establishment of the first secular parliament in the Middle East.

The Persian Revolution is the company’s fifth theatre project to date and will further expose culturally diverse work to British audiences. Following the critically acclaimed Majnoun, The Persian Revolution continues 30 Bird’s quest to challenge the misrepresentation of Iran in the West and to explore the meeting points between the East and the West.

Mehrdad Seyf was born in Tehran and has lived in the UK since his teens. He trained as an actor/director with Complicite, Monica Pagneux, Rick Zoltoowski and Lorna Marshall. Mehrdad was assistant director to the Lyric’s Artistic Director David Farr on his production of The Odyssey at the Lyric. He has also recently written his first radio play, The Virgin, for Stages of Sound, an initiative organised by BBC Radio 4, Hampstead Theatre and Arts Council England to develop Plays for Radio by writers from culturally diverse backgrounds. Mehrdad has written and directed all of 30 Birds projects to date.

The Persian Revolution is a co-production with the Iran Heritage Foundation. The play forms a major part of their Centenary Conference on The Iranian Constitutional Revolution 1906-1911.

September 4, 2006