Perth Festival Review: Nassim
Nassim Soleimanpour's new play Nassim is an autobiographical account of his work, his upbringing and his homeland. Using the technique from White Rabbit, Red Rabbit to execute this, a new actor is brought in each night, unrehearsed and unprepared for what lies ahead. In doing this, Soleimanpour creates a platform of mutuality in which the audience, actor and playwright share power while exploring themes of language, identity and family.
On the night we went, Scarlett Stevens played her part admirably, with some help from an enthusiastic native Farsi speaker in the audience.
The Farsi lesson came in handy almost immediately - I was able to charm the barista at the coffee shop next door to work the next day with my ‘salam’ and ‘neki bood, neki yabood’ ('Hello and once upon a time'). It was however harder to convince my co-worker who at first dismissed the play, saying ‘Oh you went to see a read-through’. It is, of course, much more than a simple read-through, as Soleimanpour has obviously poured in lot of thought as evidenced through every detail in his work.
While the performances with Kelton Pell and Richard Fidler this weekend would be amazing to see, ultimately the actor for the evening is of little importance. They are really just a conduit for Nassim's words.
And they are remarkable words indeed. Nassim finishes its Perth run tomorrow night, and tickets can be found HERE.
