Song of the North
A cinematic shadow theater experience unlike anything you have seen before!
483 puppets, 208 animated backgrounds, 9 actors, and over 2300 production cues!
You are about to encounter the most elaborated live puppet show ever!
UPCOMING PERFROMANCES:
December 5-8, 2024: Quai Branly Museum - Paris, France TICKETS
January 29, 2025: Lafayette College - Easton, PA TICKETS
January 31, 2025: Strathmore - Bethesda, MD TICKETS
March 14-23, 2025: New Victory Theater - NYC, NY TICKETS
May 10, 2025: Chan Theater - Vancouver BC, Canada
May 14, 2025: Port Theater - Nanaimo BC, Canada TICKETS
May 17, 2025: Meany Center for the Performing Arts - Seattle, WA TICKETS
Stay tuned, we keep updating this list!
New York Times Critic’s Pick
”Breathtaking fireworks of creativity” — Le Monde
”The Persian soul and culture vibrate in this original and poetic show.” —Toute La Culture
”Out of the ordinary!” - Les Echos
It is one of the slickest large shadow shows ever made,The story, the delivery, it's all 10 / 10. —UNIMA -USA
”The whole family will be enchanted by this vibrant, cinematic performance” —The Music City Review
Song of the North is a large-scale, cinematic performance combining the manual art of shadow puppetry with projected animation to tell the courageous tale of Manijeh, a heroine from ancient Persia, who must use all her strengths and talents to rescue her beloved, Bijan, from a perilous predicament of her own making and help prevent a war. This epic love story employs a cast of 483 handmade puppets and a talented ensemble of nine actors and puppeteers, all of which come together to create a spectacular experience that advances the themes of unity, collaboration, and experimentation through performance and story. Song of the North, adapted from the Book of Kings (Shahnameh), challenges the Eurocentric worldview of art and storytelling through a contemporary multimedia experience of this classic Persian tale. (80 minutes)
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Previous Engagements:
**World Premiere February 9-13, 2022 Musée du quai Branly, Paris France
**US Premiere March 5-12, 2022, Brooklyn Academy of Music, NYC
April 14-17, 2022, Festival Iberoamericano, Bogata, Colombia
Jan 13-14, 2023 - AT&T Performing Arts Center, Dallas TX.
March 24-26, 2023 Symphony Space, New York City
September 21 - 2023 Jorgenson Center, UCONN, CT
October 20-22- Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
January 19 & 20 - Chicago International Puppetry Festival, Chicago, IL
January 27 - George Mason, Fairfax, VA
January 30 - Weiss Center, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
February 2 - Modlin Center, Richmond, VA
February 17 - Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh, PA
March 8-10 - Nowruzgan Festival, Toronto
April 5-7 - The Freud Playhouse, UCLA, Los Angeles CA
April 19 & 20 - OZ Arts Nashville, Nashville, TN
October 25, 2024: Detroit Institute of Art - Detroit, MI
STATEMENT FROM THE DIRECTOR ABOUT THE THEFT AND RECOVERY OF OUR SHOW: We can't find the words to express our gratitude for each and every one of you who played a vital role in supporting our fundraising campaign. To be honest as we delved into the numbers and realized the substantial amount needed our initial optimism took a little dip. We had doubts about securing the funds quickly enough to get back on the road in January. But wow! The incredible generosity of our community has blown us away. Thanks to your unwavering support we hit our fundraising target.
We're eagerly looking forward to our imminent return to the stage and the joy of reuniting with both familiar faces and new friends who have joined us on this incredible journey.
With the warmest of thanks,
Hamid RahmanianREAD THE NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE
Created, Designed and Directed by Hamid Rahmanian
Producer: Melissa Hibbard
Script written by Hamid Rahmanian and Melissa Hibbard
Based of the love story of Bijan and Manijeh from the Shahnameh
Original Score written & orchestrated by Loga Ramin Torkian
Featuring Vocalist: Azam Ali
Ensemble:
Sam Jay Gold, Harrison Greene, Jenny Hann, Esme Roszel, Sarah Walsh, Clay Westman, and Christopher Williams
Get to know our Ensemble
Voice Actors:
Mark Thompson, Christina Calph, Richard Epcar, and Rose Nisker
Stage Manager: Zach Perez
Company Manager: Ray Dondero
Photographer: Richard Termene
Booking Agent: Laura Colby - Elsie Management
Take a sneak peak into the creative process.
Major Funding provided by
National Theater Project
National Endowment for the Arts
Hamid and Christina Moghadam Foundation
New York State Council for the Arts
Jim Henson Foundation
Brooklyn Arts Council
Special thanks to our generous donors
Vernon Davis Grizzard III, Francis and Dionne Najafi, Flora Foundation
Neda Nobari Foundation, Tahbazof Family Foundation, Maximum Difference Foundation, Bijan and Soraya Amin Foundation, Primex International Trading, Yaghmaie Family Charitable Fund
Additional support provided by
Rostam Zafari, Farhad Mohammadi, Parto Moshayedi, Michael Sabourian and Mrs. Massoudeh Sudeh Sabiurian, Haleh Emrani, Razi Family Foundation, Andrew Tavakoli, Sunset Franchise Capital, Gholamali Yaganeh, Niloofar and Bahmani Fakhim, Nader Sanai, Alex Ramzoo, Khosrow Hakakian, Kazem and Karen Yahyapour, Iranian Association of North Carolina and Dr. Hamid Esbah
Musicians:
Robab, Kamaan, Saz, Lafta, Guitar Viol, Programming & Keyboards: Loga Ramin Torkian
Vocals & Percussion: Azam Ali
Percussion: Pejman Hadadi
Violin: Molly Rogers
Cello: Mahsa Ghassemi
Kopuz & Kaval: Sinan Cem Eroglu
Piano: Sufi Rahmanian
Cello: Iman Torkian
Puppets:
Design: Saba Niknam, Hamid Rahmanian
Construction and Mechanics: Zach Broome, Esme Roszel
Puppet Construction: Katayoun Amir Aslani, Weiyi Chen, Ray Dondero, Parisa Harandi, Neda Izadi, Neda Kazemifar, Negin Keyhanfar, Sonia Kim Shuhei Matsuyama, and Kevin Marinelli.
Background Animation and the technical support: Hoda Rami
Sound Mixing: Mehrnaz Mohabati
QLab Setup: Mo Talani
Fight Choreography: Rob Aronowitz
Script Consultants: Ahmad Sadri, Lauren Whitehead
Grant Writing: Alexandra Guglielminetti
Technical: Tyler Gothier
Carpenter: Kaveh Haghtalab
Laser-cut service provided by: Joseph Szegda Jr., Vahid Pourkay at Print Icon
Rehearsal Space provided by Brooklyn Academy of Music, Culture Lab, Flushing Town Hall, Target Margin, Mercury Store
Technical facilities provided by Pratt Institute and Peter Patchen
Photographer: Richard Termine
GET TO KNOW THE MAGIC BEHIND THE SHOW. $24 + free shipping (US ORDERS ONLY)
Relive the wondrous experience of Song of the North through this beautiful comic book. Art and Story tells the love story of Bijan and Manijeh from Shahnameh through a comic book-style illustrated book. Within the pages, artist and director Hamid Rahmanian reveals the process of creating the visuals of this breathtaking shadow play.
We would like to express our deep gratitude to the following individuals who have helped us throughout this journey: Mark Amin, Rostam Zafari, Mahsa Hakimi, Ram Devineni, Bessy Khonsari, and Navid Khonsari, Amir Farman Farma, Ali Amin, Mohammad Amin, Farhad Mohammadi
We would like to acknowledge the contributions of our past collaborator, Larry Reed and his dedication to and influence on the art form of shadow theater here in the US. We would also like to acknowledge the long tradition of shadow theater among the indigenous peoples of Bali and Indonesia, Egypt, China, and – many hundreds of years ago – the Iranian plateau.
Kingorama and Two Chairs Inc. is located on the Land of the Munsee Lenape People (Brooklyn, NY), part of the Delaware Nation, many of whom were forced off their lands and relocated to assigned lands in Oklahoma and Canada
About the show
Song of the North is a large-scale, 80-minute multi-disciplinary live performance work by Hamid Rahmanian and collaborating visual and performing artists. The show employs shadow puppetry, animation, movement, an original music score by Ramin Torkian and voiced dialogue to interactively tell a tale adapted from the Shahnameh.
The Shahnameh is an ancient collection of myths from the Iranian plateau, a historical and cultural touchstone that is a national treasure in Iran. Song of the North continues Rahmanian’s exploration of this significant epic, and expands the theatrical methods used in Feathers of Fire, his first award-winning multi-media work, to introduce audiences of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to the valuable artistic, historical, and cultural contributions of Iran.
The production combines multidisciplinary modes of representation to tell the story of Manijeh, a heroine admired for her strength and determination, who helps prevent war between rival kingdoms. One of the most striking elements of this work is the use of over 300 handmade puppets in the play which are inspired by the visual culture of Iran and it’s neighboring lands that evolved around the Shahnameh, with influences from Persian miniature paintings and etchings. The puppets also reference the once vibrant puppetry tradition of Iran while imbuing it with modern and international elements. The intricate puppets and seven actor-dancer-puppeteers interact and perform in front of stunning over 200 animated backgrounds and behind a large, 16X30 foot screen set up at the edge of a proscenium, on which the audience watches the entire show projected, immersing them in a live animated adventure.
Through the multi-sensory telling of this ancient myth, and accompanying engagement programs, we aim to encourage audiences to feel a little less estranged from their neighbors, and illuminate the values and similar experiences we all share.
We are taking this show to diverse cities, some of which may not be familiar with the art form and/or Iranian culture. We are collaborating with local institutions, creating outreach programs that included school performances for at risk youth, ESL learners, and kids with disabilities; workshops for children and adults in areas of dance, shadow puppetry and puppet making, artist talks with university students in theater, Persian arts and arts management; and talk backs with audiences on the process of creating the work.
As an American citizen, born in Iran, Rahmanian works to bridge gaps of understanding, and highlight shared ideals and values in the face of cultural vilification, and official discrimination. The source material of Song of the North is the Persian epic, the Shahmaneh, a beautiful, powerful, and accessible point of entry. We strongly believe that striving toward equity, diversity, and inclusion are hallmarks of a thriving and robust society. Our work advocates for voices that have been historically misrepresented through work that is accessible for patrons of all ages, cultural backgrounds, economic groups, and physical ability. We embrace artists of all backgrounds and are committed to telling stories that prompt conversation, inspire compassion, and promote empathy.
