Open Rep: When Zinat Came to the village

The previous successes with open rehearsals will return during the Storytelling Festival! This year, Västerbottensteatern invites the audience to Scene 5 in Sara Cultural Center to take part in the ongoing work with "When Zinat came to the countryside"!

– A GREAT STORY OF SOLIDARITY, SURVIVAL AND THE SWEDISH NATION.

What makes someone leave their language, their culture, their loved ones – their entire fixed point in life – for something completely new and unknown? In this non-polarizing tribute song to all people who have fled, Zinat Pirzadeh tells the story of her escape from Iran, and the Sweden she encountered.

In a peaceful little community in Norrland, a group of people from all corners of the world have just arrived and are being welcomed by representatives from the village to settle into their new home – Jörn’s refugee center. Among them is Zinat, a young woman on the run with her two-year-old son. She has escaped from the oppression of Iran and a violent forced marriage. Now she seeks peace and security. At the shelter, which is like a society in miniature, however, old conflicts are brewing while new friendships and unexpected love sprout where you least expect them.

With intimate storytelling, live music and spatial projections, Zinat brings to life the vulnerable situation of women in Iran then and now, her long and difficult flight, her time in the refugee camp and the experiences of being undocumented in Västerbotten.

1991, when Zinat comes to Sweden, is also the year when New Democracy enters the Swedish parliament, Nazis are rampaging in the streets, and Islamophobia begins to spread in the country. At the same time, there is a strong feeling and practice among many of the equal value of all people and the right to asylum.

Through Zinat's story, we are given a glimpse into a story that is also about everyone who has experienced flight. The performance is a non-polarizing hymn to the people who today are often made scapegoats and used as a bargaining chip in political games.

In Zinat's company, we laugh, cry and marvel together at the human power of survival and the potential that arises when people look each other in the eyes and acknowledge that everything belongs to everyone – the forests, the roads, the stories.

The play is based on conversations between playwright and director Nasim Aghili, who also came to Sweden as a refugee from Iran, and Zinat. Together they have created a memorial work that both centers on the refugee's experiences and reflects on Sweden's potential as a place of solidarity and human dignity.

On stage with Zinat are musicians Rostam Mirlashari and Amanda Lindgren, who have created new arrangements for Swedish and Iranian songs that have been important to Zinat – folk music, pop and songs about escape, comfort and new communities.

Behind the scenic concept is the artist duo Aghili/Karlsson, whose work is inspired by both Swedish and Iranian craftsmanship, as well as by the landscapes of Västerbotten and Mazandaran. With their experimental approach, they accompany Zinat's strong story with sculpture and video.