Director Sepy Baghaei Talks About Wish You Were Here
This month at the Gate Theatre, Sepy Baghaei directs the premiere of Sanaz Toossi’s play, Wish You Were Here, which follows the lives of a group of female friends in the aftermath of the 1979 Iranian Revolution; a time that sparked significant changes for Iranian women. We were excited to get the chance to ask Sepy about this fascinating production.
Hi Sepy. Thanks very much for talking with us today. Can you start by telling us about the premise of the play?
Wish You Were Here charts the evolving friendship between five women in Iran over a 13 year period (1978-1991). This was a period of massive sociopolitical change in the country, with events such as the revolution, Iran-Iraq war, and American hostage crisis all taking place. All these events form the backdrop of the play as we zoom on in Nazanin, Rana, Shideh, Zari, and Salme: five women who start out in their early 20’s. Each scene plays out in the living rooms of these women, and explores what happens when women leave and re-enter the group as events out of their control force them to grow and change.
It’s quite a volatile political context. Is this going to be a hard watch?
Even though the play is set against much political upheaval, that’s not its focus. The focus is very much on the women: the impact they have on each other’s lives and how their love for each other carries them through. Sanaz has infused a very healthy dose of humour throughout the play: these women are bold, brash and very partial to a dirty joke! There’s a lot of joy, counterbalanced with more moving, hard-hitting moments. So, I’d say audiences should be ready to have a good belly laugh, but there’s no harm in packing some tissues with you too!
Can you tell us a bit about your cast and what they each bring to the production?
I’m so thrilled to be working with this cast of five Iranian-heritage women. They bring such a depth of lived experience to the story — from growing up in Iran to being part of the large and thriving British-Iranian diaspora. They’ve all been incredibly busy across stage and screen: Isabella Nefar was recently in My English Persian Kitchen (Traverse/Soho Theatre); Juliette Motamed in We Are Lady Parts (Channel 4); Afsaneh Dehrouyeh in the BAFTA-nominated short Yellow; Emily Renée in The Power (Amazon Prime), and Maryam Grace in Macbeth (Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare).
What has it been like working with the Gate Theatre, who are renowned for their tradition of giving a platform to often unheard voices?
It’s been a pleasure working with The Gate. As a migrant to the UK myself (I was born and raised in Australia to Iranian parents), I have a deep appreciation for companies who strive to tell international stories and platform a variety of voices. Over the years I’ve seen a number of shows at The Gate, and always admired how the theatre told big stories in such an intimate space. It’s been abundantly clear throughout the process of collaborating with The Gate team how much they love this story, which has been deeply moving to me.
How have you found working in the unusual space at the Gate?
I actually love working in unusual and non-traditional spaces! I cut my teeth as an actor and director in spaces which weren’t originally theatres. I trained as an actor in a theatre that had been converted from a church building, and which was set up in a traverse seating arrangement. So it’s a lovely full circle moment to be working with The Gate in 26 Crowndale: which was also converted from a 70’s church house and hall, and which we’re setting up in a traverse seating arrangement too! It was always important to me that audiences felt like they were part of the living room with the women in Wish You Were Here — and the intimacy of 26 Crowndale is perfect for that.
The play comes with three additional playlets. Will you also be directing those, and what do they add to the production?
Yes, I will be directing the three playlets. Over the last few years I’ve gotten to know and connect with the big pool of Iranian creatives working in the UK (there’s a lot of us!). So I’m really chuffed that The Gate is platforming the voices of three British-Iranian women playwrights — Afsaneh Gray, Jasmin Mandi-Ghomi, and Melina Namdar. The playlets enhance and dive deeper into some of the themes in the play, like female friendship and growing up — as well as offering glimpses into different parts of the modern Iranian experience, such as the experiences of LGBTQ+ Iranians and the challenges of being part of the diaspora.
This story in Wish You Were Here is specifically about Iran, but do you feel it has a wider, international reach?
Absolutely. A big part of what makes this play so powerful is that while the women of Wish You Were Here are Iranian, the issues they confront and the conversations they have — around love, careers, marriage, sex, children, friendship and migration — are relatable to women from all walks of life. I’ve no doubt that audiences will leave and see a little bit of their own sisters, girlfriends, cousins, aunts and mothers within these characters and story.
Thanks very much to Sepy for talking to us about this fascinating new production. Wish You Were Here runs at the Gate theatre from Thursday 24 October – Sat 23 November. More information and booking details can be found here.
