Cinema

On the 19th of August 1978, in the southern city of Abadan, Iran, during the screening of a controversial film called Gavaznaha (The Deer), the Cinema Rex was set alight from within. Four hundred people perished; to this day it is one of the largest terrorist atrocities committed against civilians. CINEMA is a new theatrical experience that explores the human and political aftermath of the Cinema Rex Fire in Abadan, Iran in 1978. Performed and created by UK based Iranian artist, Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh, the play remembers the lives and people behind the numbers and the news stories. It was an event that changed Iran’s political course, and would lead to the revolution of 1979. CINEMA is tender and explosive, interwoven with an original score, potent projections and delicious language.