Ayat Najafi und Arta Atelier Kollektiv
In the beginning, there is emptiness and defeat – the revolution seems lost, failed due to the regime, patriarchal structures and fears. But the desire not to give up remains. At the centre is Revolution Street, the symbol of women’s resistance in Iran since 1979. Here, bodies become an expression of protest, weapons in the fight for freedom and justice.
Image gallery
Szene aus Frauen der Revolutionsstraße - Geschichte eines Aufstands دختران خیابان انقلاب
The story begins in 2017 with Vida Movahed’s courageous protest and spans back to the women’s uprisings of 1979 and the protests following Mahsa Jina Amini’s death in 2022.
People use their bodies to fight back against oppression, dancing on Tehran’s streets, demanding change and defying state power. Their retreats – ruins and abandoned houses that become archives of resistance, where new ideas and a theatre of uprising are created. This play tells of the struggle for freedom, of women who challenge generations of oppression and find their voices.
In fall of 2022, Ayat Najafi led a series of underground theater workshops in Tehran during the women’s uprising. From this work, an ensemble emerged, which he has continued to develop in Berlin with international artists since 2023.
Additional information
Direction: Ayat Najafi
Stage/Costumes: Sabina Moncys
Choreography: Frank Willens
Video: Guillaume Lenoble
Music: Sébastien Apert
Dramaturgy: Sarah Marée
Assistant director: Luca Lehnert
Production management: ehrliche arbeit – freies Kulturbüro
A production by Ayat Najafi and Arta Atelier Kollektiv in co-operation with Ballhaus Ost and Theater an der Ruhr, funded by the Hauptstadtkulturfonds. In collaboration with Goethe Institut im Exil. With the kind support of the Château de Monthelon.
