A dizzying, paradoxical anti-comedy clown show, this autobiographical solo production follows Iranian asylum seeker Sohrab as he mounts a desperate, genius performance in the hopes of either being naturalised or deported. Co-created by the Koan Brothers and inspired by Rumi’s call to “kill yourself,” the production utterly refuses to hand-hold or neatly explain the immigrant experience, delivering an unconventional, undismissable, and fiercely unforgettable interrogation of identity.
Would you mind giving us an insight into what your show/event/performance is?
FORIEGNER (the misspelling is intentional) is Sohrab Haghverdi’s anti-identity avant-clown show inspired by anti-comedian Andy Kaufman, the terrifying words of Persian poet Rumi, and Sohrab’s personal struggles with U.S. immigration, ego, and testicular cancer. FORIEGNER is an absurd autobiographical performance wherein Sohrab simultaneously explains and refuses to explain himself. FORIEGNER is a skewering of the suitcase play—that style of solo performance where the costumes, props, and scenic elements are contained inside one or more suitcases that are literally unpacked in an attempt to metaphorically unpack the immigrant protagonist’s life story. FORIEGNER is identity art that is also a venomous rant against identity art.
“If you think what’s most important about me is that I’m brown and from the Middle East, or any other label you want to name, and I believe you, then I have to work hard forever to sustain this sandhouse that I didn’t consent to build. I wanted to make a show that addresses being a foreigner in America without giving the audience (mostly educated and white) the opportunity to reduce the story into one where the underdog overcomes. Can I be seen as a complex ball of aliveness and not just an oriental rug?”
Tell us about the creative team and the process involved?
FORIEGNER was co-created by Sohrab Haghverdi and brothers Mason and Benjamin Rosenthal through a long process of devising and experimentation. On day one Sohrab improvised by unpacking a suitcase full of random items bought from the dollar store, wanting to convey something about being a “bumbling foreigner.” We’ve been teasing out different meanings and modes since then.
We’ve been calling our collaboration together “Koan Brothers”. Besides being a little tongue in cheek, a lot of the work we’ve been making the past three years has been around this tension of identity and anti-identity, explaining and not explaining, much like a zen koan, a sort of riddle, trying to let the mind sit somewhere other than on fixed concepts.
How does it feel coming to (back to) the Fringe?
Exciting! We’re very proud of this show and we think it is particularly resonant at this moment. We are excited to get in front of some eyes and have folks experience this wild ride.
With shows from all over the world at the Fringe, what sets yours apart?
Sohrab Haghverdi is the real deal. He actually grew up in Iran, and by the end of the show he will actually
THIS PART IS CENSORED.
On that, is there anything in the production or production team’s backgrounds which influences the way the show is performed or told?
We all have rich histories in different lineages of devised theater. We all meditate sometimes if we feel like it. The show is also a kind of meditation.
Is there anything specific you’re hoping the audience will take away?
There is a particularly memorable moment at the very end of the performance, and we hope audiences will think back on it often and it will serve as a spiritual irritant towards their enlightenment.
Your Ideal audience is in attendance, who’s watching? Or more importantly – who isn’t…?
In attendance: Tom Green, Donald Trump,
Not in attendance: Rumi (he’s dead), Cyrus the Great (he’s dead), Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (he’s dead).
It’s an intense month, so where you’re able, how do you plan to relax, and are there any other shows you intend to see or want to recommend?
We’re coming over with a gaggle of extraordinary Philadelphia-based artists:
Lions by Alice Yorke and Scott Sheppard, Baby Everything by Lee Minora, The Van Gogh Shogh by Donna Oblongota, Penelope by ,Bechtel, Grace McLean, and Eva Steinemetz, and The 40-Year–Old Ballerino by Chris Davis.
FORIEGNER will run at Venue 26, Old Lab at Summerhall
Runs: August 6th – August 31st at 17.20pm
Photo credit: Ashley Smith
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