A dark room is lit only by a video of a mother. Then the connection is lost. From this interrupted image, Āzādi unfolds as a poetic, political and personal solo performance about observing a catastrophe in Iran from the safety of Europe.
Image gallery
Arash Azarm - Āzādi (آزادی) - Freedom
Arash Azarm combines monologue, movement, live camera footage, projections, documentary fragments, text, sound and silence. News reports, private phone calls, death tolls, memories, bureaucratic emails, nights out at clubs and dreams all converge. At the centre is an Iranian queer body that has crossed a border, whilst Iran has never left the body. Āzādi asks how one can grieve from afar, what survival does to guilt, and what freedom means when the body is safe but the mind remains at home.
- English and Persian with English subtitles
Note regarding sensitive content:
The performance addresses state violence and death in Iran, internet blackouts, grief, exile, persecution of queer people, psychological distress and survivor’s guilt. It contains documentary visual and audio fragments, death tolls, darkness, and sudden changes in lighting and sound. No graphic violence is shown.
- Concept, text & performance: Arash Azarm
- Assistant & Performance: Setareh Maleki
- Video & Visual Art: Giovanni Dinello
- Music & DJ set: Balthazar Martinez
- Artistic & technical assistance: Rahel Jenny Egger Technical support: Haesoo Jung
- Mentoring: Azadeh Ganjeh
- Developed as part of the MA in Expanded Theatre, HKB/BFH
Dates
September 2026
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