Reza Abdoh
Encyclopedia
Reza Abdoh Iranian-born American director and playwright known for large-scale, experimental theatrical productions, often staged in unusual spaces like warehouses and abandoned buildings.
Abdoh was born in Tehran in 1963. In Reza Abdoh, academic Daniel Mufson says that Abdoh often "embellished" his achievements between 1972 and 1983. For example, he may or may not have participated in the Robert Wilson
play Ka Mountain in Iran. Mufson says that according to records at the University of Southern California Abdoh studied for one semester in 1979. In 1983 he began directing plays, often adapting classics like King Lear
, King Oedipus, and Medea in Los Angeles theaters.
In 1990, Abdoh directed Father Was a Peculiar Man, a multimedia performance featuring more than 50 performers that occurred across four blocks of New York City's meatpacking district. That year he also wrote and directed The Hip-Hop Waltz of Eurydice, staged at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. Abdoh called it a "gut reaction to systemic repression and erosion of freedom" in an interview with Thomas Leabhart published in Mime Journal. His work often confronted such issues as race, class and AIDS
.
Abdoh died of AIDS at age 32.
Abdoh worked on several productions with the New York and Los Angeles theater ensemble Dar a Luz, which he formed in 1991. Productions with the company included The Law of Remains
(1992), Tight Right White (1993) and Quotations From a Ruined City (1994), co-written with his brother, Salar Abdoh. His later work was called "nightmarish" and used multimedia elements with downtown theater conventions to "bombard" audiences. New York Times critic Stephen Holden called Abdoh "a theatrical visionary" in his obituary.
Abdoh also directed the experimental film The Blind Owl, featuring his partner, Brenden Doyle, in 1992. Abdoh made several short videos between 1986 and 1991. He is the subject of the book Reza Abdoh, edited by Daniel Mufson; his papers and videotapes of some performances are kept at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts http://catnyp.nypl.org/record=b6577860.
Abdoh was born in Tehran in 1963. In Reza Abdoh, academic Daniel Mufson says that Abdoh often "embellished" his achievements between 1972 and 1983. For example, he may or may not have participated in the Robert Wilson
Robert Wilson (director)
Robert Wilson is an American avant-garde stage director and playwright who has been called "[America]'s — or even the world's — foremost vanguard 'theater artist'". Over the course of his wide-ranging career, he has also worked as a choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video...
play Ka Mountain in Iran. Mufson says that according to records at the University of Southern California Abdoh studied for one semester in 1979. In 1983 he began directing plays, often adapting classics like King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
, King Oedipus, and Medea in Los Angeles theaters.
In 1990, Abdoh directed Father Was a Peculiar Man, a multimedia performance featuring more than 50 performers that occurred across four blocks of New York City's meatpacking district. That year he also wrote and directed The Hip-Hop Waltz of Eurydice, staged at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. Abdoh called it a "gut reaction to systemic repression and erosion of freedom" in an interview with Thomas Leabhart published in Mime Journal. His work often confronted such issues as race, class and AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
.
Abdoh died of AIDS at age 32.
Abdoh worked on several productions with the New York and Los Angeles theater ensemble Dar a Luz, which he formed in 1991. Productions with the company included The Law of Remains
The Law of Remains
The Law of Remains is a 1991 play by Los Angeles-based Iranian playwright, director and filmmaker Reza Abdoh. The play, initially staged in a New York City hotel, was described in A Companion to Twentieth-Century American Drama as "an apocalyptic fantasia"...
(1992), Tight Right White (1993) and Quotations From a Ruined City (1994), co-written with his brother, Salar Abdoh. His later work was called "nightmarish" and used multimedia elements with downtown theater conventions to "bombard" audiences. New York Times critic Stephen Holden called Abdoh "a theatrical visionary" in his obituary.
Abdoh also directed the experimental film The Blind Owl, featuring his partner, Brenden Doyle, in 1992. Abdoh made several short videos between 1986 and 1991. He is the subject of the book Reza Abdoh, edited by Daniel Mufson; his papers and videotapes of some performances are kept at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts http://catnyp.nypl.org/record=b6577860.