Welcome to my world

My practice usually begins with simple questions. I’m less interested in finding answers than in letting these questions multiply—becoming sharper, deeper, more precise. I explore them through different approaches: creating theatre pieces, performing, working with film, and collaborating. When I need a fresh intellectual space, I turn to teaching and research, learning from my students along the way.

I believe that “every question is a roll of the dice” (after Mallarmé). This uncertainty is not something I resist—it is what drives my practice. For me, each attempt to create a new artistic language—or to build a community of equals—is a wager against the rigid walls of a confined world: an effort to unsettle boundaries rather than simply cross them.

Ashkan Kheilnejad (b. 1989) began his artistic career in 2008 at the University of Tehran, collaborating with theatre groups such as Nowadays Theatre as an actor and assistant director. In 2011, he co-founded Tazeh Theatre Group, a collective that continues to explore new forms of performance and challenge conventional practices.

His early directorial works, such as Whose Life Is It Anyway? (2011) and Whispers Behind the Battle Line (2012), were noted for their fresh approach to contemporary storytelling and received recognition from ‌‌IIUTF and the ITF.

Continuing his studies, Kheilnejad pursued directing at Tarbiat Modarres University in 2013, focusing on experimental theatre. His third piece, Act III, Scene iv (2015), presented at the APB Theatre Schools Festival (UNESCO, Singapore), marked an important step in presenting his work internationally. He also contributed to scholarly discussions on theatre by presenting the research article Private Theatre at the 2017 International Seminar on Independent Theatre Capacities.

In 2017–2018, he directed a production of The History Boys and created the short film Dress Rehearsal (Talghin), which were honored by FITF and the Iran Film Critics and Writers Association, respectively.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kheilnejad launched Tazeh Theatre Atelier and Senior Theatre Camp to support young artists, fostering a creative community. In response to the Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran, he co-organized the Tazeh Theatre Festival, dedicated to underground and independent works, offering emerging performers a platform to collaborate and perform freely.

Currently based in Tehran, he continues to create ambitious and immersive performances, including a seven-hour staging of The Brothers Karamazov and is collaborating with Pascal Rambert on Clôture de l’amour, reflecting his ongoing international and cross-cultural work.