Iranian-born Sahand Sahebdivani has been working as a professional storyteller for 10 years in the Netherlands, where he performs in both Dutch and English, but up until now, never in his native Persian. Which might explain why he’s a bit stressed about holding his Persian language debut act next week – and of all places, in Israel. “It’s a bit tricky,” confides Sahebdivani, a non-practicing Muslim, in an interview with Haaretz, “even though this is still the language with which I speak with my parents.” Sahebdivani, 33, is among a handful of foreign performers, among hundreds of Israeli actors, storytellers, authors and media personalities, scheduled to participate in the 20th annual International Storytelling Festival in Givatayim, held every year during the holiday of Sukkot. The festival organizers, as he explains it, made his invitation conditional on his agreement to hold at least one performance in Persian for the benefit of the local Iranian community. In addition, Sahebdivani will be holding another two solo performances in English (a second was added at the last minute after the first was sold out) and make a guest appearance in another Israeli act devoted to the Jews of Iran. His stories, he says, are “all over the place,” combining the personal with myth and fable. “I let them run into each other, so that it’s not clear where the personal ends and the myths begin.”
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 08:56:41 +0000
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