Azadeh Kangarani

theatre director, performer, and dramaturge

Azadeh Kangarani (* 1979) is an Iranian theatre director, performer, and dramaturge. She was born and raised in Iran, where she also studied dramaturgy. After leaving Tehran, she eventually ended up in Prague, where she studied film and theatre directing before becoming an associate lecturer at Charles University. Her original work intertwines personal experience with themes of identity, migration, gender, silence, and intercultural understanding. She has written several autobiographical one-woman shows, including My Pink Labyrinth (2016) and Strung Up at the Airport (2017), which touch on topics such as female sexuality, ancestry, and prejudice. In recent years she has been organising discussions in the US and Europe about the ideas and legacy of former Czech president and playwright Václav Havel. Most recently, she directed Havel’s play The Unveiling (1975) as part of the Samizdat project by the Bricolage Production Company in Pittsburgh.