Celebrating Nowruz with Shahnameh-inspired Shadow Puppetry and Books
Culture and Entertainment News, Kodoom.com
Hamid Rahmanian's latest productions will be featured this Nowruz in New York City and online.
In New York City, you can experience the epic stories of Shahnameh like never before with an exquisite shadow theater performance, featuring 500 puppets and 9 actors. World Music Institute will feature "Song of the North," a mesmerizing large-scale, cinematic performance combining the manual art of shadow puppetry with projected animation. The narrative tells the courageous tale of Princess Manijeh who defies her powerful father to rescue her beloved, Bijan, and avert war between rival kingdoms in a show of brave determination echoed in the protests taking place in Iran today.
A New York Times Critic’s Pick, and adapted from the Shahnameh (the Persian “Book of Kings” written over 1,000 years ago), "Song of the North" was created by 2014 Guggenheim Fellow Hamid Rahmanian, with the original music score by celebrated Iranian composer Ramin Torkian, featuring vocalist Azam Ali. This dynamic, family-friendly production involving close to 500 handmade puppets will run from Friday through Sunday, March 24-26 at the Peter Norton Symphony Space.
If you cannot make it to the show, Rahmanian's pop-up book, "The Seven Trials of Rostam," also inspired by Shahnameh, will make a wonderful Nowruz gift (or as Persians say eid-e) for both young and old alike. And for this Persian New Year (Nowruz), it's offered at $10 Off (plus Free Shipping) online at Kingorama's website.
The book is in English with Persian script, and contains 12 intricate (engineered pop-up paper) mechanics, and enclosed in a beautiful slipcase. You can experience the magic of Shahnameh like never before with stunning pop-up illustrations in this book, and even travel back in time to the land of heroes and legends.
Credits: Art and Design by Hamid Rahmanian, Paper Engineering by Simon Arizpe, Text by Melissa Hibbard. Produced by Hamid Rahmanian at Fictionville Studio.
Story: When the mythical Persian king of Iran, King Kay Kavous, foolishly invades the lands of Mazandaran, a beautiful and enchanted kingdom guarded by powerful demons, the king soon finds himself and his army defeated and imprisoned by the terrifying White Demon. In all of Iran, only one young man is fit for the task of rescuing the king. Rostam, along with is devoted horse Rakhsh, sets off on a long and perilous journey – seven heroic trials – battling wild animals, demons, witches and more, all in an effort to save the king and Iran. Through these adventures, Rostam would come to be known as the greatest hero the world has ever known.
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