Asheq: Ritual Music to Cure a Lover (2018)

By Onelight Theatre

December 5th - 8th 2018 | 8pm
Harbourfront Centre Theatre

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Developed under the artistic leadership of Shahin Sayadi, Asheq: Ritual Music to Cure a Lover is the story of forbidden love, a family divided by long-held secrets, and a community trying to find balance between traditional ways and the modern world. The play culminates in a Zar exorcism ceremony, intended to rid a young man of the “sickness” of his love for an outcast young woman, that ultimately reveals a father’s long-buried secrets. 

Asheq: Ritual Music to Cure a Lover is set on the shores of the Persian Gulf in southern Iran where East African and Persian traditions have blended over time to produce unique cultural practices, including the modern Zar rituals. The play explores how cultures and communities change over time: how traditions can be sustained from generation to generation and also how there can be sudden, overnight cultural change.

Onelight commissioned Habib Meftahboushehri (Iran/France) and Mohsen Sharifian (Iran), internationally-recognized musicians with ties to southern Iran, to develop original music for the production. 

The development of this production was supported by the Prismatic Arts Festival’s Level Up project. It debuted at the 2018 Prismatic Arts Festival in September. Asheq: Ritual Music to Cure a Lover will have its Ontario debut at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre in Toronto, December 5-8, 2018.  

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Reviews:

“Sayadi is able to bring an entire world filled with different characters, as he simply and seamlessly shifts between them”               – Deanne Kearney,  Mooney on Theatre

“Asheq is a fascinating mix of basic, primitive storytelling with a sophisticated technology involving light, live video and sound with digital technology”                  – Elissa Bernard, NS Reviews

Media:

“Multitalented artist’s original play shines a light on family drama and blending cultural traditions”                                        – Brandon Young, Asheq, The Coast Weekly

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Asheq: Ritual Music to Cure a Lover (a prequel) credits:

Shahin Sayadi
Performer, Writer, Director, Scenographer, Set Design, Lighting and Projection Design, Sound Design, Set Construction, Costumes, Props, Music Arrangements, Videography, Photography, Film Production, Producer

Mike Mader
Technical Director, Lighting and Projection Design, Construction, QLab Supervisor and 3D mapping, Sound Installation

Raeesa Lalani
Stage Manager, Co-Producer, Sound Design, Tech Operator, Assistant Technical Director

Maggie Stewart
Co-Producer, Dramaturg

Karen Bassett
Dramaturg

Mohsen Sharifian
Composer, Musician, Cultural Advisor, selected music from Lian

Habib Meftahboushehri
Composer, Musician, selected music from Shibali album

Sina Bathaie
Additional music – selections from Ray of Hope album

Jake Dambergs
Digital Technology Advisor, Sound, Props

Nick Bottomley 
Projection Materials, Graphics and Animation

Ryan Neal
Projection Materials, Graphics and Animation

Payam Sayadi 
Calligraphy, Poster Design

Miya Turnbull
Props

Coleen Shirin Macpherson
Toronto Co-Producer

Shoorangiz Sayadi, Khezr Dashti, Zahra Zamzam, Babak ahmadpoor, Hosein Bagherian, Shirin Azhdar, Zahra Afisi, Mahin Satar, Mehdi Abdi, Zoleikha Helalbeh, Arash Khalafpoor, Abbass Khwazak, Hosein Ebnedohi, Payam Shadniya, Amin Salimi, Ario Ansari, Kaveh Zarei, Masoud Kazerooni, Mohsen Sharifian
Musicians, Singers and Performers in films

Karen Bassett, Garry Williams, Raeesa Lalani,  Coleen Shirin MacPherson, Hassan Jabry Dehdaran, Mike Mader, Jake Dambergs, Maggie Stewart, Shahin Sayadi
Development Workshops