Just let the wind untie my perfumed Dramaturgy: Delia Olam @ Edfringe 2016

Joanne Hartstone presents 

“Just let the wind untie my perfumed hair...” or WHO IS TAHÍRÍH?

August 4th-29th (not 16th)

12:30 (75 mins)

Assembly George Square Studios (Venue 17)

After a successful premiere season in the 2015 Adelaide Fringe, being nominated for a Peace Foundation Award, and a successful return season in the 2016 Adelaide Fringe, 

“Just let the wind untie my perfumed hair...” or WHO IS TAHÍRÍH? 

makes its international debut at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. 

An intimate, immersive and poetic experience – a solo bio-
play about Tahíríh, the 19th C. Persian poet who removed her veil, championed equality for all, and became the world’s first female suffrage martyr.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

The amazing true story of a highly educated and revolutionary Persian woman known as Ṭáhirih, who lived in the mid 1800s and who - arguably - set in motion the politics of the global gender (and human) equality movement when she removed her veil before a large group of men, stepped into an exclusively male domain, and declared that the power of the old Laws had finished. She was imprisoned multiple times for her beliefs in an attempt to silence her, but her clear, intelligent and passionate eloquence always found an audience. The effort having failed, she was eventually executed, at age 36, by strangulation. Her legacy also includes beautiful Rumi-esque poetry,  which are mostly written in the ghazal tradition of 'love letters' to the divine - which have very strong and  

How did you go about gathering the team for it?

In a very organic fashion. The premiere season of the work in the Adelaide fringe 2015 was a bit of an experiment, which I undertook with a very "poor man's" aesthetic (and budget), and with a team of non-theatre volunteers - who equipped themselves admirably during a surprisingly successful run! 

From that season, an opportunity arose to do a development of the work at the State's premiere theatre space, The Festival Centre, to which Geoff Cobham of bluebottle lighting, brought his considerable experience and expertise - and a beautiful new lighting and set design grew from that. 

Joanne Hartstone had seen one of the performances during that season and we stayed in touch. The collaboration grew from some hearty conversations mid last year (and the revelation that I am up for taking Edinburgh-like risks!), and she soon came on board officially as producer, with Edinburgh now in mind. We put on a return season during the Adelaide fringe 2016, which also did very well. In the run up to this Edinburgh fringe season, Joanne has also stepped very naturally into the role of director, which has proven to be an exciting and fruitful development for the work.

How did you become interested in making this performance?

I was first prompted towards the material when I was commissioned to create a short piece on Táhirih's life - in preparation for a celebration of the 100th Anniversaty of the UN International Women's Day that we had a few years ago. The research that I did revealed a complex woman with surprising agency given the time and place she lived. This was at odds with the brief version of her story I had been told years before, which I felt painted her as a beautiful, self-sacrificing victim of a cruel world. 

In fact, it turns out, hers is a story of almost unexplainable power, and certainly great courage; like an Epic Poem where the heroine becomes self-aware and steps out of the page and flips the script! The questions her life raised, about what we've achieved in gender equity since the infamous moment of her 'unveiling' - and what we've yet to achieve (not to mention the question of what inspired her to do it!) just wouldn't give me peace. 

So I found another writer/dramaturg, and we got going on the new piece, researching both the historical aspects of this story and time as well as the different voices at play in the modern equality discourse...

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?

No. I have tended to be quite impulsive and impatient and explosive in my creative processes up until now; All and then nothing. Whereas this piece has been slow, steady and organic in the making, at every stage. From the conceptual stage one year, to the research and writing (which took a year) to the play reading, songwriting and development stage (another year) through these two seasons (a year and a half) and even this period of preparation for Edinburgh - in which intensive rehearsals have revealed still more fresh insights in the work! 

Perhaps it's because we are "collaborating" with this historical figure of Táhirih, but somehow there has been a different quality to the whole thing, which has engendered in me a trust and patience - that the thing is unfolding as it should. Maybe *this* will become my "typical way to make a performance" now??

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

Entertainment, and good story-telling; a sense of intimacy and of sharing something fragile and wonderful: that surprised, frustrated and uplifted -lingering in the memory... 

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

By taking the time during the research and writing stage to learn about many stories as possible so that there would be a number of nuanced voices that might be at once historically satisfying and also politically interesting to the modern viewer, with some of the characters holding difficult positions; and others holding unfavourable ones but inspiring affection nonetheless etc. 

Another strategy was setting her poetry to music so that the ear would have that regular 'cleansing' and 'reset' throughout the piece, that they might be ready for the next 'character' to take the stage. The other was exploring and cultivating numerous different ways to break the fourth wall convincingly, so that the storytelling could be as intimate and immediate as possible. 

Also by keeping the set and design simple and un-cluttered so that the few things used (for example, the one lilac scarf worn in different ways, depending on the character, and finally standing in for the strangled Táhirih) gain a poetic versatility and becoming increasingly symbolic. By placing a poem/song full of hope at the end, after the tragic death scene, suggesting empowerment and action. And hopefully, by giving a strong performance. 

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?


I've used the word already a few times, so I suppose I must see it within the "storytelling" tradition - but it probably more comes under the banner of straight Drama, with heightened theatricality, since the "people" telling are very much not me. The breaking of the fourth wall would also seem to draw the work into the modern definition of 'cabaret', and i have also snuck in there, a few subtle elements of Clown - for a bit of light relief.  


Prepare to be thrown back in time to some of the history-making and heart-breaking moments that
defined the short life of the unprecedented woman that Tahíríh was. She was no one thing; neither all
damsel nor all warrior. Instead, she was: a keen scholar, skilled teacher, religious leader, poetess of
genius, young wife, loving yet sacrificing mother, “rebel”, “lawbreaker”, “troublemaker”, eloquent public
speaker, relentless truth seeker, unflinchingly courageous and tragically – a happy martyr. 

Live original music with cello and Appalachian dulcimer, set to Tahirih’s beautiful translated poetry.

A Woman's Dramaturgy: Amy Conway on 30:60:80

Amy Conway in association with Platform, Glasgow presents
30:60:80
As the strive for equality continues, the experiences of three generations of women are explored in this new verbatim performance, staged as we approach International Women’s Day.

Scottish Tour: 12th February – 11th March 2015

This new autobiographical performance compares and contrasts the lives and experiences of three generations of women as they reach their milestone birthdays – Sheffield born and Glasgow based artist Amy, her mother and her Grandmother. 

When Amy’s Grandma turned 30, she had three children and was thankful to finally live in a house with an indoor toilet. When her Mum turned 30, she was an NHS professional, had a mortgage and was pregnant with her first child. 

Amy has just turned 30. She is a single, freelancing chancer and worries about almost everything. An autobiographical piece of theatre that uses verbatim techniques to compare and contrast the lives of three generations of women - Amy, her Mum and Grandma- as they reached landmark birthdays this year.
Amy Conway said: “At a time when women are still finding their place in contemporary society, and in theatre, women's voices still have a tendency to fade into the background, I decided to create a show that put three generations of women centre stage and where better, than from my own family? 

The biggest revelation was to hear the most important women in my life talk about themselves. I had known them as care-givers, love-givers and sometimes, to my shame, live-in maids and now they were real and whole. I was inspired to create a piece of theatre that listened to and documented these female relationships to put daughters and mothers and grandmothers in the foreground. I wanted to make a show not just about the women in my family, but in everyone else's as well. 

By delivering the verbatim wisdom of my elders, along with my own neuroses and ramblings about life, I was able to share not only an exploration of my personal heritage but a universal celebration of maternal relationships.”

What was the inspiration for this performance?
Amy Conway: I was turning 30 and I felt lost – a feeling I suspect is utterly normal when exiting your carefree 20s. Coincidentally my mum had also just turned 60 and my grandma, 80, within a few months of each other. I'd been interested in making a verbatim show for a while and I was in need of some maternal wisdom so I decided to interview my mother and grandmother respectively and record their words. 

I wanted to know what 30 had been like for them, what were their hopes, what kept them awake at night, and how had they changed over the years. I found vast generational differences between us and was comforted by a wealth of shared experience. But the biggest revelation was to hear the most important women in my life talk about themselves. I had known them as care-givers, love-givers and sometimes, to my shame, live-in maids and now they were real and whole. 

I was inspired to create a piece of theatre that listened to these female voices and documented these maternal relationships -that put daughters and mothers and grandmothers in the foreground.

How did you go about gathering the team for it?
30:60:80 has a pretty small team, it being a one woman show. But I invited Victoria Beesley to direct the piece when it was first selected for Arches Live in 2014 since she had made verbatim shows in the past, mainly with the testimony of refugees, and we had a good working relationship from collaborating on other projects. 

Vickie has a wonderful knack of knowing what seemingly insignificant details to include and can find the throwaway comment that reveals the heart of a person. 

Michael O'Neill came on board once funding was in place in his capacity as attachment producer at the Tron, a brilliant scheme that has given emerging artists like myself support that I might not have found elsewhere. He'd seen the show at Arches Live and totally got what I wanted to achieve.

How did you become interested in making performance?
I did the MA in Classical and Contemporary Text at the RCS in 2009 as an actor and wasn't expecting to become a theatre maker. I'd tried directing and writing whilst I was in STaG (Glasgow Uni theatre society) but never felt that was my forte. It's only been through total immersion in Scottish theatre since then, particularly in observing the swaths of emerging artists making performance in Glasgow, that I've started to make my own work. 

It's partly due to how unsatisfying I found the life of an actor. I've done the gruelling slog of theatre in education tours a number of times, for shit money and often pretty poor material - kids deserve so much better (these were all English companies by the way)! And then not having the control over the parts you played because you were just happy to be working. 

But for the most part, I began to make performance because I was inspired by the work I was seeing from my contemporaries and some foolhardy folk at the Arches were willing to take a chance. The Arches gave me a way in and I've been making performance ever since. Thinking about last year's closure still makes me sad.

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?
I have to say, I don't really have a process. I was never trained to have a process for making theatre. So I just start with the idea, do some research, give it some time to gestate, and get in a room with some people I trust creatively. In the beginning I made a few pieces entirely by myself, but those experiences were stressful and lonely and I've since come to my senses. I tend to start from what I know. 

So my one-to-one show, I-HAPPY-I-GOOD, came from the 3 years I had spent working for Sense Scotland as a support worker for 2 women with deaf-blindness. And my next show, Super Awesome World, is an interactive live video game quest for good mental health, and came from my own struggle with depression and my obsession with Nintendo growing up. I'd like to make work that is less personal at some point, but for now this feels like the most natural way to create in a connected way.

What do you hope the audience will experience?
30:60:80 is a gentle show. I'm not expecting it to rock the theatre world. But it will be striking in it's intimacy and authenticity. The show is autobiographical but there are so many universal themes that I think the audience will find it easy to see themselves and their own families in the performance. At Arches Live we had mothers and daughters come up to us afterwards and say, 'That's us!'.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?
The show's USP is the use of recorded delivery. During the show, I listen to an edited recording of my mum, my grandma and my own words through headphones and speak it back to an audience as accurately as possible. 

This removes the much of the inevitable falseness of performance – the disconnect from the original moment when the words were spoken that happens when a performer interprets the lines. The testimony is unadulterated, and uttered in all it's imperfect glory, with 'ah's and 'um's and nervous laughter. It's more human that way.

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?
Not really. I want to make work that gives voice to the under-represented – people that are rarely in the limelight. I think their stories are often more interesting than the sensational ones we hear all the time. What tradition is that within?









Amy Conway is dedicated to creating new work that speaks for the voiceless and under-represented; women, minorities and the vulnerable. Her immersive promenade performance I-HAPPY-I-GOOD was performed at On The Verge Festival in October 2015 at Hope Street, Liverpool as a co-production with Conflux.

Victoria Beesley is Artistic Director of Terra Incognita Arts, an organisation that specialises in using theatre and the arts to share the extraordinary stories of ordinary people. She is recently toured My Friend Selma, a solo storytelling performance created by Terra Incognita to schools, museums and theatres across Scotland.

Platform, run by Glasgow East Arts Company (GEAC), is the arts centre at the heart of The Bridge complex in Easterhouse. Launched in 2006, the award winning leisure, learning and arts facility has become ‘an important magnet for the community’ Rab Bennets, RIBA Jury Chair.

GEAC’s aim is to provide high quality, accessible arts programming and cultural events to local residents. They aim to work with and support inspiring and engaging artists to develop work in direct conversation with those around us and have worked with notable artists including Karla Black, Alex Frost and Katy Dove.

Company Information

Devised and performed by Amy Conway Devised and directed by Victoria Beesley

Lighting Design & Production Manager Laura Hawkins Producer Michael O’Neill



Supported by Creative Scotland and developed with the support of The Arches/Arches LIVE Festival 2014

Touring dates
12 - 13 February Platform
The Bridge, 1000 Westerhouse Road, Glasgow, G34 9JW
7pm & matinees at 2pm | £8 (£4.50/£3.50 conc)
Box office: 0141 276 9696 (opt 1)

18 February The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen
5 West North Street, Aberdeen, AB24 5AT
7pm | £12 (£10 / £5 conc)
Box office: 01224 641122


23 February Eden Court, Inverness
Bishops Road, Inverness, IV3
8pm | £10 (£8 conc)
Box office: 01463 234234

26 February Beacon Theatre, Greenock
Custom House Quay, Greenock PA15 1HJ
7.30pm | £10 (£8 conc)
Box office: 01475 723723

2 – 5 March Tron Theatre
63 Trongate, Glasgow, G1 5HB
8pm | £10 (£7.50 conc)
Box office: 0141 552 4267

8 March Paisley Arts Centre
Witherspoon Street, Paisley, PA1 1UR
7.30pm | £10 (£6 conc)
Box office: 0300 300 1210

10 March Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh
43 – 45 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SR
8pm | £10 (£8 conc)
Box office: 0131 556 9579

11 March Cumbernauld Theatre
Kildrum, Cumbernauld, G67 2BN
7.30pm | £10 (£8 conc)
Box office: 01236 732887