Hip-hop dance theatre show choreographed by Bobak Champion about identity, Islamophobia and Iranian heritage, followed by Iranian tea and biscuits.
I'm Muslamic Don't Panik comes to South Street Arts Centre on Friday 6 November, with the show starting at 7:30pm. It's choreographed and performed by Bobak Champion, a Northern School of Contemporary Dance graduate who finished in 2004, and it's billed as hip-hop dance theatre — a spot where storytelling meets dance, and live music meets clowning. The whole thing runs for 60 minutes, and afterwards there's Iranian tea and biscuits for everyone to have.
Champion describes it as an intimate spectacle of identity, one in which being British, Iranian and a hip-hop head all collide. He follows a series of weird and wonderful characters across the world, tracing his own journey from Bristol to the Tehran marathon and back again, as he comes to truly know himself and accept his heritage against a media culture that still portrays the Middle East as frightening and dangerous. It's a personal piece that looks at where he comes from and how he fits in.
The show was born from witnessing rising Islamophobia and the dehumanisation of people from the MENA region, compounded by the rise of Donald Trump and the U.S. Muslim ban. It's drawn praise from The Guardian and The Scotsman as an antidote to hateful anti-Muslim rhetoric, and it's a good example of what happens when dance is used to talk about something that's usually left to the news. The age guidance is 12+.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Reading and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
Tickets are pay-what-you-can, with £5, £10 or £15 to choose from, so you can pick the one that works for you. The show is at South Street Arts Centre, 21 South Street, Reading, RG1 4QU, on Friday 6 November at 7:30pm.
