Presented by Baran Theatre and Metro Arts
Matilda Award Nomination
2019 BEST VIDEO DESIGN
“You know me as ‘Venus’ if you speak English”
Tower of Babel hosts story-telling. Persian and Australian recollections of the Transit of Venus awaken the mythology and history of the characters and the audience.
“They believed the Transit of Venus would reveal to them the height of the heavens. And the curve of this multi-lingual coastline.”
Tower of Babel hosts a Persian Party. It is Nahid and Marout’s last night in Australia before they travel to Iraq. Nahid was a political journalist in Iran before she came to Australia as a refugee. Here, she met Marout, an eccentric documentary film-maker. They fell in love, made some plans and are about to travel together to meet the indomitable Nahid’s family.
In Tower of Babel, we meet people, eating, drinking, and dancing.
“Bab-ili is your home too! Sing for joy there. Dwell in Happiness”.
This original interactive contemporary performance pits humanity against tyranny in our age of sanctions, war and displacement.
"‘Tower of Babel’ is a necessary piece of theatre that all audiences are encouraged to attend." Theatre HAUS
"it’s a story that will stay with you long after you leave the theatre. Highly recommended." nothing ever happens in brisbane
"so myths and reality merge beautifully in the carefully crafted work" Blue Curtains Brisbane
"It immerses the audience in the intimacy of love negotiated through cultural difference, and gives us a taste of how state violence interferes with it. There was never a more suitable slogan than “the personal is political.” " Westender Brisbane's Urbun Voice
"I'm sure that my lens on the world has altered irreversibly, so the real gift of this performance is yet to be seen."Rosie Odsey IMHO
"Complimenting this was clever and symbolic blocking by Co-writer and Director, Nasim Khosravi. She has built a compelling and united piece through meaningful stories of family, love, immigration and displacement." Theatre HAUS
"It looks at the untold stories “the dust in the stair-well” and the beauty that starkly contrasts the images mainstream media shows us." Louisa Simonetta IMHO
"As a contemporary interdisciplinary, participatory performance... Its nuanced execution is engaging due only due to its profundity, but its combination of live performance, video scenography and soundscapes which not only add interest but engage people in the experience, not just physically but emotionally in consideration of the navigation of 24-hour news cycle media perceptions of the often harrowing but human stories of displaced people." Blue Curtains Brisbane
"Tower of Babel is a multi-layered, dense and ambitious work by one of Brisbane’s most exciting and innovative theatre companies." nothing ever happens in brisbane
Team
Co-writer, Director: Nasim Khosravi
Co-Writer: Greg Manning
Dramaturg: Ben Knapton
Production Designer: Freddy Komp – (Light, Sound & Vision)
Production Stage Manager: Jeremy Gordon
Lighting Design Mentor: Jason Glenwright
Composer: Bernard Houston
Movement Consultant: James Cunningham
Assistant Director: Hamid Sharif
Costume Designer: Niloo Tara
Performers: Afsaneh (Tina) Torabi, Steven Rooke, Anna Yen, Angus Thorburn, Peter Condon and Nastran Khosravi (online)
Musicians: Pouyan Khaki, Greta Kelly, Kambiz Dara, Arash Zanganeh
Singer: Maryam Parsi
Image designer: Hosein Khosravi
Photographer: Zohreh Kord
Set building: Tony Kmita, Sharka Bosakova, Greg Manning
The developments of the work have benefited from the insights and contributions of Erfan Abdi, Suzon Fuks, Hosein Khosravi and Darcy Jones.
Video performers: Aaron Douglas, Donna Toussaint, Margaret Holm, Neil Holm and Pele Toussaint
Video interviewees: Afshin Shahmoradi, Ali M., Alexis Ayamdor, Ali Allibawi, Anu Sharma, Axel Dushime, Chris Puechmarin, Hamid Sharif, Ivan Milovanov, Jian Sun, Joanne Racine, Judit Molnar, Katrine McLeod, Maria V. Saavedra Reyes, Matin Rezaei, Migdonia Velez Rivera, Mohsen Modir Shanechi, Muslim Al- Ansarri, Narges Etemadi, Neda Ali, Niloo Tara, Nyi Nyi Lwin, Peter Branjerdporn, Rajat Gulati, Sepideh Shadab, Stephanie Becker, Suzon Fuks, Theresia Nchendia, Thuy B. Doan, Towfiq Alqudy, Walter Stahl and Wei Ma
Program: https://metroarts.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Tower-of-Babel-Program_Digital.pdf
Special thanks to Suzon Fuks, Ali Vaezipour, Rebeca Manning, David Fittell, Jo Thomas, Faramarz K Rahbar, Asemaneh Etemadi, Rhonda and Noel Martin, Performance Lighting and Sound, Robyn O’Loghlin, Zac Boulton, Hiwa Michaeli, Atieh Vaezipour, Reza Kaviani, Mohsen Modirshanehchi, Sepidah Shadab, Layla Soroush. And special thanks to donors Ali Alibawi, Amanda Main, Anna Yen, Catarina Hebbard, Chris Moran, Dawn Albinger, Eli Moore, Florence Teillet, Foul Play Theatre, Gen Trace, Hamid Sharifi, Hasht Baad, Heidi Manche, Hosein Khosravi, Iman Ashtiani Abdi, Jo Thomas, kambiz Dara, Katrina Torenbeek, Libby Lincoln, Mahdod Eftekar, Maryam Mir, Michael Wesley, Naomi Steinborner, Nastaran Khosravi, Nima K, Oham Khosravi, Reza Kaviani, Ryan Marano, Scotia Monkivitch, Shahran Nowbar, Soudabeh Abazari, Steph Dick, Therese Evelyn Collie, and Verity Hampson.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body. This project is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland. Tower of Babel is supported by Creative Partnerships Australia through MATCH Lab. This project has been supported by Metro Arts.
Touring
Tower of Babel may be available for touring and/or co-presentations from 2021. For any enquiries, Please contact Nasim Khosravi
