Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran

Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran is darkly comedic, urgent new play that explores the ubiquitous feeling that our societies are falling apart. It is the second part of a trilogy of plays from Javaad Alipoor about how digital technology, resentment and fracturing identities are changing the world. Combining digital theatre and a live Instagram feed, the production premiered at the Traverse Theatre in 2019, winning a Scotsman Fringe First Award. When its London transfer and subsequent national tour was postponed by the Covid-19 pandemic, co-creators Javaad Alipoor and Kirsty Housley set about devising a new digital version for online audiences which has been on virtual world tour since summer 2020 with performances at The Public Theater's Under The Radar Festival, HOME Manchester, Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Chicago's Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Electric Dreams Festival and the Sundance Film Festival.

The Scotsman Fringe First Winner

'A compelling experiment… Thrillingly idea-rich, ambitious and formally adventurous.' The Stage

'An ambitious, sprawling show.' The Observer 

Javaad Alipoor is a British-Iranian, Manchester-based and Bradford-built artist, writer and founding Artistic Director of The Javaad Alipoor Company. The Company takes stories beyond the stage through powerful multi-platform creations that explore the intersection of politics and technology in the contemporary world. Javaad was Resident Associate Director at Sheffield Theatres (2017-18), Associate Director at Bradford?s Theatre in the Mill (2015-2017) and is an alumni of Arts Council England?s Change Makers programme. Javaad's plays include The Believers Are But Brothers and Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran (both Oberon) and his writing on international politics, cultural policy and art has been featured in The Guardian, The Independent and The Stage.