A blend of Persian mythology, immersive cinema, and live performance is set to hit The Blue Room stage this October with a love letter to the nightingale. Award-winning video artist Elham Eshraghian-Haakansson is at the helm of this production, making her theatre directorial debut. Exploring themes of love, pain, and resilience, the tale is packed with vivid visuals and a powerful score as it delves into the human struggle for empathy and healing. We spoke with Elham about how it feels to develop a new facet of her practice as an artist and the people helping bring her vision to life.
This show marks your debut as a theatre director. What inspired you to explore this medium?
I have always loved the language of theatre—the physicality, intimacy, and trust between the audience and the performers, who become the “artwork” themselves. There’s something incredibly special about that relationship. Entering this new realm, I didn’t initially know where to begin. The turning point for me was witnessing the profound theatre works of local artists. These works had a significant impact on me in various ways, it’s what’s been giving me goosebumps at the moment.
How have you adapted to working in theatre and blending it with film? Daley Rangi is your directing mentor—how are they guiding and mentoring you through this process?
I am still reeling from being mentored by Daley – someone who I hold a deep respect and love for as a human and as a creative. In our first meeting, they performed the first monologue to show me examples of directing dialogue – they hit every note, every beat. It was magnetic! I felt like my world opened up as Daley shared their knowledge in theatre with me, helping to build my confidence as a theatre director.
One of the first things Daley said to me was to stay true to my core practice and to let it amplify what I am learning. Cinema and video art will always be my first love, and bringing this part of my practice into theatre was really profound. It challenged my perceptions of what theatre is, especially when exploring this script that honours our heritage, yet anchored in lived experience.
Photography: Courtesy of Artist
Can you tell us about the Persian folklore and mythology you’re exploring in this show? What draws you to this tale?
This story holds multiple facets of Persian myth that I reshaped into my own world. It is heavily inspired by the epic poem Shahnameh. There is a devastating chapter where a father and son unknowingly fight to the death. The sadness and pain resonated and this remained in the script. The story is also influenced by Bahá’í spirituality, specifically The Seven Valleys by Bahá’u’lláh, a spiritual text addressed to Sufi mystics. Drawing from these spiritual and poetic epics that explore the trials of human existence—which, in turn, create tales of acceptance and strength—I decided to create my own, inspired by contemporary experiences of powerlessness.
You have two actors, Danny Aghaie and Ashkaan Hadi, performing the roles of Rage and Reason, the faces of The Nightingale. What’s the dynamic between them during the performance? What have you enjoyed about working with them?
Working with these two has been the most incredible experience of my career. In our first rehearsal session, seeing them work together in that setting was a core memory for me.
I have collaborated with them on multiple projects for my video art. This was the first project where we explored dialogue together; in the past, it has always been about silent gestures, using the body as a language to convey the artwork.
Danny has an incredible ‘something’ that I can’t even describe. When you see him perform, you can really feel it. When I was writing the character of Rage, I could only envision Danny embodying this role.
Ashkaan complements this energy, and for me, working with my brother in this new way is really special. Not only is he a vessel for this story, but as someone who has always been an anchor for me, there is something so sacred about this. Ashkaan embodies all the nuance to the character of Reason—stoic, a core resilience that was only made possible having “been there” and can truly understand the pain of Rage. But it doesn’t end there. This is what this play is about, to look pain in the eye and allow it to fuel this endurance.
Behind the Scenes of A Love Letter to the Nightingale. Photography Jessica Russell.
You also have two film actors, Misha Noori and Asha Kiani. How do you create the relationship between the performers on stage and those on film? Do they interact?
They are the most sacred, as they represent the Nightingale herself—they embody the female presence in the work. This is also a personal ode of my love for cinema: the Nightingale is immortalised in the moving image, ever-present. The female voice comes through both the dialogue and the screen, owing to the captivating performances by Misha and Asha.
I think the relationship between all the actors, both on film and stage, becomes apparent when you invest yourself in the dialogue. I love artworks and theatre pieces with a certain ambiguity—where you are allowed to sit with the character, the set, and the lighting, and just feel the inner workings of their mind as it plays out.
Where does the creative process begin for you on a project? Do you have a typical process that you follow and replicate?
If there’s one thing to know about me and how I work, it’s that I always like to dedicate each project to a very specific learning – whether it’s a skill or a craft that excites me. And then, it’s a quote or a piece of writing or poetry that sparks the match. In the past, each project was an exploration of something I wanted to understand better, and as I expanded the level of difficulty, there was always something new I wanted to learn, each step pushing further in scope.
This work has been a couple of years in the making. I first started to explore this story in 2022 when I began the Creative and Performance Leadership Fellowship with the Forrest Research Foundation. During the fellowship, I was mentored by Dr. Ali Fardinpour and Mahmudul Raz, who gave me great insights into developing immersive stories and compositions. A year or so later, I created a world in VR exploring Persian mythology and lived experiences of trauma, which also involved an intensive process of intersubjective art therapy with Cara Flame, SPACED and the Victoria Park Community Centre. We presented it at PICA, and it even made a few people cry. While creating this virtual world, I realised I could see this in the theatre – in the flesh. I was exploring The Seven Valleys by Bahá’u’lláh, and this excerpt resonated with me: “The steed of this Valley is pain. And if there be no pain, this journey will never end.” From there, I created this script.
I spent an intensive month in the writer’s room with Cara. Then connected with this incredible team to bring this vision to life. Another month running lines with the actors whilst long-distance. I believe that community and the people you work with are crucial—they remain at the nucleus of every creative process I embark on.
Jay Emmanual, whom I deeply admire and am so inspired by as a creative theatre director, is the dramaturg for the theatre piece. Aside from being such a creative rock for me, to know and witness his work, and then for him to be part of this journey has been a highlight. When you witness his work, you innately feel it – I cried so much in Children of the Sea. Continuing this relationship has been so important to me; he has been a huge part of the life of this work.
This play also could not have happened without the Blue Room, the support of its generous team, and Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa, an inspiring force and one of the most courageous artists of our community.
Photography: Courtesy of Artist
The show’s music is composed by Ashton Namdar. What can you tell us about the music, and how are you collaborating with Ashton to develop the show’s sound? Why are music and sound essential to a piece like this?
I love orchestral scores with an edge, and when he showed me his demos for a score – it was cinematic, it was epic. I knew I wanted to collaborate with him. We worked together on an exhibition in NSW, and his score for the experience was so poignant and impactful. When someone creatively gets you – you know it’s going to be a lifelong creative collaboration (hopefully!).
I wrote to Ashton saying I wanted him to create something “epic”—imagine ‘Lord of the Rings’ meets Persian folk music. I told him I wanted certain instruments to represent the characters (inspired by Rivera-Herrans), with the emotion coming through the melody. Ashton’s capacity to score theatre work—he brings it to life. Music is the ladder to the soul, and he provides each step we need to reach the peak of what this work means.
What are you most excited for audiences to see and experience in this performance?
I am excited for audiences to be part of this journey as a whole. This project is definitely outside of my comfort zone.
This is a first for all of us, and everyone has poured their heart and soul into creating something we hope resonates. We believe that we can seek a better tomorrow if we strive to look after one another and take the time to understand our pains, our grief, our joys, and our love. It’s a reminder that coercive control and oppression can—and will—be overcome with love. We have to feel the pain and the love and support of those around us. This play is a love letter to yourself when you feel there is no way forward, reminding us that by accepting all the sum of our parts, we can take that first step.
a love letter to the Nightingale is presented by Elham Eshraghian-Haakansson at The Blue Room Theatre from 8 – 26 October.