Profile

Oriza Hirata

Playwright /　Director
Oriza Hirata is one of the most- acclaimed playwrights and directors of the contemporary theatre scene in Japan. While still studying at university, Hirata founded the company Seinendan and since then according to his own drama theory has been proceeding his theatre work continuously. Hirata's drama theory, that exhibits a practical approach to theatre and drama was up in the book "For Contemporary Colloquial Theatre" and has strongly influenced the theatre world in the 1990's.
Furthermore, the Komaba Agora Theatre, of which Hirata is the managing director, is not only the work base of his company Seinendan, but also has been frequently fostering exchange with companies from all over Japan and abroad and is so one of the most vivid centers of the contemporary theatre scene in Japan. As the director of DAISEIKIMATSU (End of the Century) Theatre Festival, he has for almost 20 years been introducing theatre from all regions of Japan to the audience in Tokyo. In recent years he has through collaborations and workshops strengthened his relationships to companies/theatres abroad and has been implementing many projects in France, Korea, Australia, the US and Ireland.

Amir Reza Koohestani

Playwright/Director
Amir Reza Koohestani was born in Shiraz (Iran) in 1978. When he was 16 years old, he started his artistic activities publishing short stories in the local papers of Shiraz. At the age of 17, he was drawn to cinema and took courses in directing and cinematography but quite soon, he abandoned this media. In 1996, he made contact with one of the Mehr Theatre Group members who suggested he write a play based on one of his stories. Although this play was never written it became a motif for his relationship with theatre. After joining the Mehr Theatre Group as an actor for about one year, he decided to devote himself completely to his work as a playwright. In 2000, at the age of 22, his second play "The Murmuring Tales" was staged in Koohestani's own direction and received five awards at the '18th International Fadjr Theatre Festival' (Iran).
Two years later, his third play “Dance on Glasses” was one of the most controversial and successful plays of Iran in recent years and has been shown at various places all over Europe. Also "Amid the Clouds"(2005) and "Recent Experiences" (2007) have been touring to several cities in Europe.
Koohestani is currently one of the worldwide most highly acclaimed playwrights / directors of non-Western origin.

Sylvain Maurice

Playwright / Director
Graduated from the École de Chaillot, Sylvain Maurice has been working as assistant director with Agathe Alexis, Philippe Adrien and Jean-Pierre Vincent, and in 1992 began his own career as a director. A lover of the German drama repertoire, with his company "L'Ultime & Co" he staged many plays by authors from the German speaking area, such as Ödön von Horvath, Georg Kaiser, Jakob M.R. Lenz and Lothar Trolle amongst others. In 1999 he attracted attention with his staging of Seneca's "Thyestes", which then toured several French cities In 2001, he presented "Macbeth" (Shakespeare) at the Avignon Festival. In 2003 he has been appointed artistic director of the Centre Dramatique National de Besançon. Among his recent works are "The Sandman" after the short story by E.T.A. Hoffmann and Roald Dahl's "The Witches, he staged as marionette theatre. In 2008 he directed Ibsen's "Peer Gynt" at the Centre Dramatique National de Besançon.