Theater Performance by Under the Starry Afghan Sky

The theatre collective Under the Starry Afghan Sky will present AY KASH

Location: Tatavla Stage

Saturday November 26th at 8:30 pm

Eleven girls – using their pens, paint, and voices to share their memories and experiences since the Taliban took power in 2021 and share their hopes and dreams for a better future.

Under the Starry Afghan Sky are eleven young women aged between 14 – 23 living in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. The collective evolved out of the work of Herat Online School founded by the educational activist Angela Ghayour who herself fled Afghanistan in 1992 and is facilitated by Rachel Karafistan of Cosmino Productions who has been working with the young women virtually from their bedrooms, since September 2022.

ABOUT THE PROJECT:

Since the withdrawal of the Western forces in August 2021, the situation for women in Afghanistan has spiralled into despair. They do not even have rights to be violated. Women have lost the ability to learn, graduate, fall in love, travel alone, go for a walk in the park, ride a bicycle, or speak in public. ‘Ay Kash / ای کاش / If Only’ is a hybrid performance featuring live on-stage action by Rachel Karafistan of Cosmino Productions and filmed ‘interaction’ with eleven young women aged between 15 -23 who are in Afghanistan. Their true identities must remain hidden because it is simply too dangerous to do otherwise, but what they want to tell you will be given life and poetic space. And they want to tell you many things: they want to tell you their personal stories since the Taliban have taken power, the stories of women who have shaped Afghan culture, the tales of their mothers, their grandmothers and their hopes and dreams for the future. All this and more bursts into life with the help of song, object theatre, storytelling, and AI. Everything that appears in the performance has been filmed and created by the young women themselves. The performance also features animations designed to protect the identities of the eleven young women, by Berlin artist Anna Benner.

The production AY KASH / IF ONLY was recently awarded the prize for best direction at the prestigious International Theatre Festival ‘Valise’ in Łomża, Poland which this year celebrated its 37th year. The jury commented on ‘the courage of the performance and the power of its artistic expression, which is more accurate than any journalism’.

Ağa Hamamı Cad. Taktaki Yokuşu 2B Cihangir Beyoğlu / İstanbul

The event is free of charge, you can reserve places at: 0090-530 113 52 30