Prisoner of Tehran

stage and directed by renowned Canadian writer and director Maja Ardal (Dora Award winner for You Fancy Yourself) and starring Bahareh Yaraghi, Mirian Katrib and Razi Shawahdi. Prisoner of Tehran runs from April 10 – 28, 2012 at Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille. At the age of 16, she was arrested on false charges and spent more than two years in the infamous Evin prison, in Tehran, where she, along with many of her friends, was tortured. She was condemned to die, but survived because one of the Revolutionary guards, Ali, pleaded for her life. But the price Ali exacted was high: she was forced to marry him. Ironically, it was Ali’s family who eventually secured Marina’s release after Ali was assassinated. Marina rejoined her family but was further traumatized by their reluctance to acknowledge her ordeal. Marina came to Canada in 1991 and has called it her home ever since. Her memoir, Prisoner of Tehran, was published in Canada by Penguin Canada in April 2007, has since been published in 28 other countries and has become an international bestseller. It took 20 years for Marina to tell anyone about her ordeal and now she travels the world, telling her story and tirelessly working to end the cycle of violence worldwide. Prisoner of Tehran was recently announced as one of the top 5 books for Canada Reads 2012 on CBC Radio in February 2012. TICKETS
$35 Regular – Thursday, Friday, Saturday, $30 Regular – Tuesday and Wednesday, $20 Student & Arts Worker – every performance, PWYC – Saturday matinees. Box Office 416.504.7529 or www.artsboxoffice.ca or www.totix.ca

PERFORMANCE DETAILS:
April 10 - 28, 2012 (Tuesday thru Saturday)
Opening Night Performance: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Evening performances: 7:30 pm
Matinee performances: 2:00 pm

Theatre Passe Muraille - 16 Ryerson Avenue

Creative Team:
Writer and Story Consultant: Marina Nemat
Adapter and Director: Maja Ardal
Producer/Associate Director/Dramaturge: Kim Blackwell
Production Designer: Julia Tribe
Lighting Designer: Steven Hawkins
Sound Designer: Lyon Smith
Vocal Choreographer: Fides Krucker

Actors:
Bahareh Yaraghi as Marina, Mirian Katrib, Razi Shawahdi

Produced by the Prisoner of Tehran Collective in association with Theatre Passe Muraille with the generous support of the Donner Foundation, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council. ABOUT CONTRARY COMPANY (Prisoner of Tehran Collective)
Our core group of women artists is politically-involved and community-connected. Our work explores strong stage imagery, language and action. We create and produce plays where the passions collide, and we nurture emerging writers with a play-creation conservatory. Contrary Company offers our collective professional expertise as artists and educators, to enrich communities with play creation, drama workshops, and community projects. Philosophy
Our organic process involves the entire creative team from inception to realization, and the essence of our creativity focuses on the transformation of empty space. We want the human drama to resonate in our audiences’ lives. We want our audiences to experience the marvel of acting and to be immersed in the world we create. We want our audiences to feel that their senses have been stimulated by us and that they can leave our plays feeling more communicative with the world. Please check our website for more information, www.contrarycompany.com. For more information on Prisoner of Tehran - the Play please visit our website, www.prisoneroftehran-theplay.com.

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For further media enquires and artist interviews please contact Kim Blackwell at 416-346-4709 or [email protected]