THE JAVAAD ALIPOOR COMPANY
The Javaad Alipoor Company takes stories beyond the stage through powerful multi-platform creations that explore the intersection of politics and technology in the contemporary world. Established in 2017, it stands on the shoulders of Northern Lines, the first company founded by Javaad Alipoor – a British-Iranian, Manchester-based and Bradford-built artist and writer – and retains its commitment to making new work with diverse artists for diverse audiences and communities.
In 2017, Javaad began writing a trilogy of plays about how technology, resentment and fracturing identities are changing the world. The Believers Are But Brothers (2017) used a live WhatsApp group and theatre to explore masculinity, violence and the internet. The play toured the world and in 2018 the company was commissioned to adapt it into a film for BBC4. The play’s sequel – Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran (2019) – used an Instagram feed and live show to explore the growing gap between the rich and the poor, climate change and the way we imagine ourselves. When Covid-19 paused touring, Rich Kids was adapted into an original digital experience which played at online festivals in 2020, including Sundance Film Festival and Under The Radar festival.
In 2020 the Company delivered two digital projects: What Is A Muslim, a collaboration with graphic artist and calligrapher Razwan Ul-Haq, exploring contemporary Muslim identity, and The Colour of Our Politics, created with actor and broadcaster Tanya Vital, a podcast series about how the UK has been shaped by a rich history of anti-racist activism and resistance.
In 2021 Javaad collaborated with Chris Thorpe to create Made of Mannheim, a new tri-lingual theatre production inspired by Schiller’s Jungfrau von Orleans exploring identity, religion and linguistic diversity. The full show was produced with and presented by National theater Mannheim and Theaterhaus G7. We also began the development of Pop Icons, a musical heritage project celebrating culture and music with migrant communities across England.
The the third part of this trilogy of plays, Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World, was developed in 2022 in residency at The Sydney Festival, co-commissioned with HOME and The National Theatre of Parramatta. This production is currently on tour. See our News page for upcoming dates.
The Company is supported using public funding by Arts Council England and The John Ellerman Foundation.
