8pm November 13, 14
2pm Matinee November 15
$10 advance/students $12 at the door
THIS SHOW WILL BE PRESENTED AT THE ASHBY STAGE
1901 Ashby Avenue Berkeley, CA 94705
Farid Mercury
A full length play “experience”: part rock concert, part documentary theatre, focusing on Persian masculinity in the post 9/11 world.
Written and Performed by Robert Farid Karimi
Live Soundscape performed by DJ D Double
Directed by Brian Freeman
Choreography by Leah Nelson

Farid Mercury is a mash-up of the words and lyrics of iconic rockstar, Farrokh Bulsara (AKA Freddie Mercury, former lead singer of Queen) with Iranian characters from interviews conducted by critically acclaimed performance artist Robert Farid Karimi. With the help of a live soundscape spun live by all-star DJ D Double, Karimi examines the multifaceted dimensions of Persian masculinity in terms of homosexuality, US-Iranian historical relations, the current political climate in Iran, and pop culture. Karimi channels Freddie Mercury, a Persian Zoroastrian, as a spiritual guide, who provides his own story of Persian masculinity and offers Karimi, and the audience, a window into a way immigrants globally negotiate identity in new homelands. “The bottom line is [Karimi] has discovered a powerful, distinctive voice, all he needs now is an audience.” – Chicago Reader