Developed under the artistic leadership of Shahin Sayadi, Asheq: Ritual Music to Cure a Lover is a story of forbidden love, a family that is divided by long-held secrets, and a community that is 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 in the northern 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 / exorcism 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 Meftahoushehri (Iran/France) and Mohsen Sharifian (Iran), internationally-recognized musicians with ties to southern Iran, to develop original music for the production.

Prismatic supported the development of this production through the Level Up project and is proud to present the debut production at Prismatic 2018. 

There will be a talk-back with Shahin Sayadi following the performance on Friday, September 14, during which Sayadi will discuss the creative process of developing Asheq.