The Javaad Alipoor Company 📷: Chris Payne
An investigation into the nature of investigation, with the unsolved murder of a pop icon at its centre…
It’s the 1970s and Fereydoun Farrokhzad’s star is blazing bright – he’s a sex symbol and chart-topping pop singer – imagine an Iranian Tom Jones. A decade on and he’s living in political exile in Germany, though still performing to sold-out audiences in Europe.
On 7 August 1992, he’s found brutally murdered. The neighbours said his dogs had been barking for two nights.
Following a successful (and I should add, a 5* reviewed piece) run, the Javaad Alipoor company comes to Battersea Arts Centre following a brief stint at Manchester’s HOME with Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World. The production is a gripping and captivating work about the murder of Fereydoun Farrokhzad against the backdrop of how digital communications serves a place in our society. Sort of a rinsing of Wikipedia, if you will.
I’m not a stranger to Javaad’s work, having seen The Believers Are But Brothers when I dwelled in W12 (the Bush Theatre yet again coming out trumps with putting on some brilliant works by underrepresented creatives), and the piece stayed with me for a while. The same can be said for the third in this instalment – I happened to miss Rich Kids – but firstly, the homework was definitely done by Javaad Alipoor. The way he crafts a vivid storyline, one that no Brit (unless you’re Iranian) will have a connection to, inspires us to challenge the opposite to what we know; that we’re euro-centric and Global North-majority living folk and that’s really shone a light on, with rightful probing. I felt unnerved, but constantly reminded of the ways we absorb information via online resources. As with The Believers, Javaad uses audience interaction effectlvely and in a seamless manner. Sometimes these can across as naff, but the preparation and pose with which the piece interweaves the fourth walll and involved the audience is a really commendable point of reference. It lifted the piece to it being one where the point driven home is cemented with ease.
Now, on to the main action with the case of the Iranian “Tom Jones” Fereydoun Farrokhzad. The murder mystery helps the narrative to flow with conviction. Lighting and screen projections facilitate and make the 90-min exploration into the ways we consume media via “search engines” and Wikipedia wormholes. I wish there was a mention to Gayatri Spivak on the section about the Subaltern, but I was really impressed by the thoroughness of this.
Go see this now, and I wish it will get that deserved transfer for this really needs to be seen by a larger audience and the masses.
** Until 26 Nov only ** 🎟️: https://bac.org.uk/whats-on/things-hidden/ (as of 23/11/22 — this is SOLD OUT , call for returns)
Time: 7:30pm
Tickets: Pay What You Can (Recommended Price £16)*
*All orders will be subject to a transaction fee of £1
Running Time: 90 mins
Age Guidance: 14+
This event takes place in person in the BAC’s Council Chamber.
Content
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Mild Graphic Imagery
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Light Swearing
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Flashing Lights