Website www.zendeh.com | Home town Newcastle upon Tyne | |
Occupation Theatre Director, Actress, writer, consultant, mentor & creative. Active since 1999 | ||
Heads up nazli tabatabai khatambakhsh artistic director of zendeh
Nazli is founder and Artistic Director (CEO) of ZENDEH, an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.
Contents
Early life
Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh quotes her influences on her creative practise to include international theatre, politics of the middle east, sciences, and stories from the SILK routes. These can be seen as a direct influence on her creative directing and productions developed with the Theatre company ZENDEH.
Career
Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh is the Artistic Director of ZENDEH, a theatre company in the North East of England that is part of Arts Council England's National Portfolio of Organisations. The company creates enchanting theatre that combines poetic elements, mythology and explores global political and social perspectives in a most approachable way. Iranian myths and contemporary reference points appear in many of ZENDEH's shows reflecting the cultural heritage of Artistic director Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh. Although the work itself often rejects cultural representation instead creating a more impressionistic, magical realism, visual and physical style of theatre. ZENDEH often explore hidden histories and modern identities; finding the compelling and epic in ordinary stories and crafting culturally eclectic productions. ZENDEH's and Nazli's direction and artistic practice is collaborative; working with artists and the wider public, combining art forms and using digital technologies to continually find imaginative ways to share stories and find human connections.
Over Nazli's career she has developed a strong leadership role in producing diverse theatre in the UK in particular looking at themes of the middle east and the lives of women.
Her Story
Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh through the 10+ years as Artistic Director with ZENDEH has developed a unique multi-staged method of creating theatrical productions that is relevant to 21st Century Britain. The ZENDEH method encompasses seven stages that includes, but is not restricted to, blue sky thinking; collaboration in multidiscipline art forms and working with a wide range of associate artists; emphasis on dramatugy; and re-approaching joint authorship with participation, engagement and research.
Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh also leads on the Creative Case North, which is a re-imagining of the Arts Council’s approach to diversity and equality, setting out how these areas can and should enrich the arts for artists, audiences and our wider society.
Personal life
Nazli is a dual citizen of Iran and of the United Kingdom, daughter of Dr. M. T. Tabatabai-Khatambaksh and Mrs M. Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh. She lives with her collaborator and husband Steven Gaythorpe in Whitley Bay.