The Surpriseshow - Nazenin Taheri and George Tobal

In 1994, Nazanin fled Iran as a young girl and arrived in the Netherlands, ending up in refugee centre AZC Kollum. Her greatest dream: to appear on The Surpriseshow. Every day she practiced her lip-sync skills in front of the mirror, convinced that Henny Huisman would call. At the AZC she befriended Maya Bradarić, was spat upon after the murder of Marianne Vaatstra, and waited for certainty, for papers, for an invitation.

Years later, Nazanin Taheri stands on stage herself - with an acting degree, a career in theatre and television, and finally a step closer to Henny Huisman. In this solo performance, she tells of dreams that remained packed away for years, of friendships that blossomed in the waiting rooms of a system that referred but never answered, and of what endless waiting does to a child. Fantasy and reality collide, humour and rawness alternate.

Credits
Text, concept and performance: Nazanin Taheri
Direction: Esther Scheldwacht
Lighting design: Julian Maiwald
Set design: Maze de Boer
Coproduction: Via Rudolphi Producties, TOBAL