Fariborz Karimi

During Welcome To Our Guesthouse #8 Fariborz presents his research project Whispered Dreams. 

‘Through my work I aim to raise intersectional and political questions for the audience. For me, the relationship between personal and universal socio-political experiences motivates the process and shapes the outcome.’

Whispered Dreams began as a series of letters and texts exchanged between Mona (a writer and actress based in Tehran) and Fariborz. They are close friends and members of the same collective that has been active in Tehran since 2011. Starting from these texts, they are revisiting their connection, friendship, and artistic collaboration, considering gender and lived experiences—Fariborz' in Amsterdam and hers in Tehran. Due to the distance, their collaboration takes place remotely, which presents certain challenges in their creative process and performative setups. This distance is integral to the concept of the work, posing challenges, particularly in relation to audience interaction.  

 ‘Friendship’ and ‘Self-censorship’ are the central themes they explore in Whispered Dreams where they question different aspects of friendship and self-censorship as concepts and examine how to translate it into a physical space while engaging audience members.   

Fariborz Karimi (Tehran, 1990) is a theater maker, performer, and writer living in Amsterdam. He obtained his bachelor's degree in Directing and Acting from Tehran University in 2013 and graduated from the master’s program at DAS Theater (Amsterdam University of the Arts) in 2023.

Through his artistic practice, Fariborz explores the theatrical space between reality and dream. He questions the meanings of self-censorship in different contexts, fueled by his own experiences. In his recent works, he attempts to bridge physical space through remote collaborations, collective creations, and by using sound, text, and video to activate the spectator's imagination. Fariborz poses socio-political questions through autobiographical and fictional stories, blurring the line between dream and reality.

Oh, Wild Gazelle, Where Are You? (2023), his graduation work from DAS Theater, was nominated for the AHK graduation awards. After graduation, Fariborz received the 3 Package Deal from the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts.

In Iran, Fariborz was one of the five co-founders of the Bohemi Theatre Collective, with whom he created several performances, such as I Can't Imagine Tomorrow (2015), Rabbit Hole (2014), Daynid Inch (2018), and Medea (2016-2018). His work has been showcased at international festivals and venues, including ITs Festival (Amsterdam, NL), ITFok Kerala (India), ACT Bilbao (Spain), Bozar (Brussels, Belgium), Amsterdam Fringe Festival, and Festival Cement (Den Bosch, NL).

Fariborz initiated Theatricultural Exchange Residency, the first platform in Iran for exchange between Iranian and international new-generation makers. Three editions of this program have taken place.

CREDITS Whispered Dreams  
Concept / maker Fariborz Karimi 
Co-writer / performer Mona Ahmadi 
Dramaturgy Aria Baghestani 
Light and sound design Patsy Lassbo 
Scenography and costumes Lou Seidel  
Composer Amirhossein Sadeghzadeh  
Artistic Advisors Keerthi Basavarajaiah, Rajni Shah