Ali Asghar Dashti + Nasim Ahmadpour — Noli Me Tangere

In 1966, the sociopolitical play Shahr-e Ghesseh (“The City of Tales”) was performed in Tehran. Most characters appeared as animals, with actors wearing masks. Directed by Bijan Mofid, it only ran for nine months but remains an iconic work of Iranian theatre that has reverberated across generations. In 2012, a group of political prisoners in Iran decided to restage Shahr-e Ghesseh.

The "Donkey" role was first assigned to an inmate who, after several rehearsals, was freed. The role passed to another prisoner, also released soon after. This cycle repeated several more times, and with each reassignment, a mix of expectation and real life emerged on stage. Roles circulated, bodies left, but the theatre practice did not stop. What unfolded was not a narrative of prison, but a collection of moments with theatre arising from the separation of role and body. In 2026, following the radicalism of their previous work, Dashti and Ahmadpour return to the festival with a breathtaking performance that presents theatre as an act of resistance.

Noli Me Tangere (“Touch Me Not”) considers the role as something independent from the body. Here, theatre seeks to fulfil a suspended dream: the return of an imprisoned actor to the stage, while an important question is still alive. When the body is trapped, can the role become a space to rehearse emancipation?