theatre playroom

I provide one of two lead creative roles that influence this independent theatre group (theatre-playroom website link), my roles typically include the responsibilities of Producer, Lighting and Projection Design, Set Building, Prop Making and occasional Stage Manager. Theatre Playroom is dedicated to creative thinking, collaborative theatre making, performance and storytelling (based on the Ancient form of Persian storytelling called ‘Naghali’). Portability is also key to our philosophy, everywhere is theatre and any space can become a performative platform. Physically, it is based in Melbourne, Australia and has been active since 2014 in the development of its methodology.
(theatre playroom video collection link)

same but different trilogy (@ la mama hq)
(images by darren gill)

This bleak but beautiful production is the result of an extended collaborative process that only saw Theatre Playroom join in January this year (2023). Colloborating with author Beata Frey Taylor, we undertook the process of creating a performance experience from a trilogy of poems centered around love and loss and how it can change the course of our lives. Parts 1 & 2 were written and performed as 2 parallel audio monologues staged as a self-guided immersive experience, while part 3 was presented as a live theatrical performance (see images below) where I designed, installed and operated the projected visuals (combination video, text and stills) and lighting. A beautiful work to be part of, addressing a topic close to my heart.

AMLETH no-lander-mark (@ la mama HQ)
(images by DArren gill)

This production was part exhibition, part performance. The experience started with a walk through visual display that introduced the creative process used to create the performance. The performance itself was about looking at the well known story of Shakespeare’s Hamlet through personal experience, collecting those moments that resonate and retelling them using an ancient form of intimate Persian storytelling (Naghali). At a critical time, it references what was for Hamlet, that might well apply to us, a tragedy of persisting significance.
(link to review by stage whispers magazine)

Iranian Bauhaus (@ La mama courthouse)

This production is the story of artist and founding member of Theatre Playroom, Elnaz Sheshgelani, and her journey of living and performing in a foreign land, outside her spiritual home (Iran). The performance flows between puppetry, masked visual theatre, spoken word, stylised gesture and music.

Iranian Bauhaus (@ motley bauhaus)

This was the first incarnation of the story of artist, Elnaz Sheshgelani, it was created as part of the ‘Refuge Festival 2020’. The set consisted of hand printed cloth backdrops using traditional Persian motifs. This was augmented with a mix of simplified lighting and projection mapped colours inspired by the illustrations from ancient Persian texts.

seven epsiodes (Map experimentum - melaka 2019)

A reimagining of a series of traditional mini stories from Persian culture, using gestural choreographed movement and spoken word. This was our first real test of the portability of our theatre, where all set, props, masks, lighting and projectors were flat packed into a lightweight, custom built carton to cheaply transport to the festival in Malaysia. We used our signature set-up of recyclable paper/cardboard backdrops, with my simplified lighting and a basic sound responsive/abstract projection of motion graphics.