Theatre · Performance · Movement

Live stage / moving image

MAHSHAD

Narges Tavakkoli Hosseini

Iranian interdisciplinary artist
based in Türkiye

Artistic practice / 2008—Now

The body remembers what language is forced to conceal.

MAHSHAD is an Iranian theatre director, performer, choreographer, playwright and interdisciplinary artist with more than fifteen years of practice across Iran and Türkiye.

Her work combines physical and predominantly non-verbal theatre, image-led dramaturgy, movement, objects, light and sound. She develops performances from research and improvisation into precise physical scores—creating a shared language that can cross spoken and cultural borders.

Physical theatreDirectionChoreographyDramaturgyMoving image

Selected works

Stage as a field
of resistance.

2021 · Eskişehir, Türkiye

House on Ashes

Küller Üzerindeki Ev

A multilingual, predominantly non-verbal ensemble performance exploring the realities of human trafficking and exploitation. Through masks, repetition, simultaneous action, movement and a shared physical vocabulary, the work brings multiple forms of coercion and displacement into a single theatrical space. Rather than relying on explanatory dialogue, House on Ashes uses the body, image, rhythm and collective action to confront experiences that are often hidden, silenced or reduced to statistics.

Roles: Director · Performer · Project lead
Sound: Original composition by Amirmasoud Yazdani (YAZDAN)
Venue: Anadolu University

Project page Official record

Central image of enforced silence in BEN

2019 · Eskişehir, Türkiye

I / BEN

BEN — the Turkish word for “I” — is a physical, image-led performance about a girl growing up under dictatorship, where the body becomes a site of tension between fear, control, obedience, and the desire for freedom. Through body, movement, paper, doors, light, and original sound, the work builds a visual world of surveillance, confinement, and resistance without relying on direct verbal narration. Its stage images move between hiding and exposure, restriction and release, silence and defiance, transforming one girl’s experience into a broader reflection on what it means to live under oppressive power.

Roles: Director · Writing consultant · Performer
Sound: Original music · Music dramaturgy by Amirmasoud Yazdani (YAZDAN)
Venue: Zübeyde Hanım Cultural Centre

Project page

2018 · Eskişehir, Türkiye

Büyücü

The Magician

Choreographer and performer in the ensemble production written and directed by Öztürk Bayram.

Narges Tavakkoli Hosseini performing in a stage scene from Büyücü — Büyücü · Stage sceneEskişehir, 2018

Moving image / Private screening

WATCH
the work

The screen record of I / BEN and the documentation of House on Ashes. Their official trailers are public. Full films are available to programmers, curators and collaborators with an access code.

Official trailerPlay here

FILMED STAGE PERFORMANCE · 2019

I / BEN

Born into a country ruled by dictatorship, a young girl grows up longing to experience the world beyond the limits imposed on her. As visible and invisible forces begin to shape her body, choices and sense of self, she struggles to preserve a space of freedom. But as she reaches toward the world outside, her path takes an unexpected turn.

MAHSHADDirection · Writing consultancy · Performance · Stage management

Amirmasoud Yazdani (YAZDAN)Original music · Music dramaturgy · Music selection

Project profile

Official trailerPlay here

Physical theatre record · 2021

House on Ashes

A multilingual, predominantly non-verbal ensemble work on forced labour, sexual exploitation, forced marriage, organ trafficking, child sale, child soldiering and forced begging. Created with a multicultural ensemble for the EU Anti-Trafficking Day programme.

MAHSHADDirection · Performance · Stage management · Project lead

Amirmasoud Yazdani (YAZDAN)Original composition · Complete performance soundtrack

Project profile

Black-and-white movement study used as an evocative image for Dream Mirror

In development

Current project / 2026

DREAM
MIRROR

A physical-theatre, sound and moving-image project about the hidden life of a queer, gender-nonconforming young person in Iran.

A bedroom becomes an inner landscape through a mirror, clothes, gesture, light, voice and cinematic sound. When the outside world intrudes, visibility turns into risk. The work examines concealment, surveillance, self-censorship, fear, memory and care without relying on explanatory dialogue.

MAHSHADConcept · Direction · Dramaturgy · Choreography · Performance · Visual language

Amirmasoud Yazdani (YAZDAN)Composition · Sound design · Sonic dramaturgy · Moving image

Bodies in
composition

House on Ashes ensemble across a shared stage architecture — House on Ashes · Intersecting narratives

Independent movement and physical performance study — Independent movement study

Domestic scene shaped by coercion and interrupted care — House on Ashes · No Way Out

Portfolio image — House on Ashes · Behind Closed Doors

Ensemble ballet and choreographic performance archive — Choreographic Performance Archive

MAHSHAD performing a solo ballet movement — Choreographic Performance Archive

Recognition

Selected milestones

2026

SLASH Festival

Official invitation as an international theatre specialist · Milan, Italy

2025

ANGAELICA

Two official selections · Pasadena, California, USA

2021

Cinema / Theatre Award

Eskişehir Governorate

Narges Tavakkoli receiving the Cinema / Theatre Award · 2021Uluslararası Göçmenler Günü Programı“Kültürlerin Buluşma Noktası Türkiye” · Eskişehir · 19 December 2021

Full record / 04:56Official programme record

Honours / Archive