Iranian Bauhaus 2
Elnaz Sheshgelani
Drawing inspiration from pre-Islamic Naghali, an ancient Persian form of dramatic storytelling, Iranian Bauhaus is a highly visual and gestural style of theatre that will take you on a journey into the ambiguities of life. Iranian Bauhaus is the story of artist, Elnaz Sheshgelani, living and performing outside her spiritual home in a foreign land. Sheshgelani operates within the style of Naghali; the most ancient form of Persian dramatic storytelling known today. Distinctive in form, Naghali flows between puppetry, masked visual theatre, stylised gesture and music. It expresses archetypes of the human psyche and features elements of ritual: rhythmic gyrations, ferocious poses with various props, grotesque masks and miniature puppet plays. In Iranian Bauhaus, the artist offers a modern twist on a timeless tradition.
“Striking performance art, easy to lose yourself in.”
- Cameron Woodhead
Iranian Bauhaus 1
Elnaz Sheshgelani
The ambiguity of life, the unconscious, and the unknown were are all explored in this exciting new piece of theatre, Iranian Bauhaus, created by Elnaz Sheshgelani. This performance uses a gestural vocubulary that was developed by Elnaz over 10 years of practice and academic research. This reconstruction of the gestural vocabulary of pre-Islamic Naghali is highly stylised and exaggerated. The movement is augmented with a quintessentially Iranian poetic and symbolic approach to narrative. Unlike other classical forms of dramatic gesture, such as Kathakali, the vocabulary does not assign specific meaning to each gesture; rather, each gesture is designed to intuitively communicate emotion to the audience.
Seven Episodes
Theatre Playroom @ Melaka 2019
In November 2019, Theatre Playroom presented "Seven Episodes" at MAP Experimentum (Melaka Arts and Performance Festival), Malaysia.