This is a stream of a live performance taking place on the HOME stage. To book for the performance please click here.
We live in a time where old orders are collapsing. From the post colonial nation states of the Middle East, to the EU and the American election. Through it all, tech savvy and bloodthirsty groups run through European drawn border lines. Amidst this, a generation of young men, find themselves burning with resentment; without the money, power and sex they think they deserve and this crisis of masculinity leads them on a journey into an online world of fantasy, violence and reality. Javaad Alipoor spent time exploring how ISIS and the alt-right radicalise online and tells the story through documentary, interactivity and fiction.
2017 Scotsman Fringe First Award Winner. Read more here.
★★★★ “Boldly conceived and gut-twistingly immediate… Shines a light on a festering corner of the internet – a 21st-century crucible of hate – then observes how fetid tendrils are snaking out into the mainstream. It is, in a way, terrifying.” – The Stage
★★★★ “There’s a matter-of-fact humour to much of what [Javaad] Alipoor tells us, but also a cold horror – this [is a] show for our times” – The Independent
★★★★ “For many […] the things touched on in Believers will be a revelation. Much of it feels vital to understand in a world where the internet is fast becoming the most powerful thing on the planet. – What’s On Stage
★★★★ “Javaad Alipoor is a genial and thoughtful young performer… In the end, though, it’s the texture of his writing – combined with stunning visual images by Jack Offord and Adam Radolinski – that makes this tentative but brilliant show a vital Fringe event.” – The Scotsman
★★★★ “Javaad Alipoor’s account of his research, arguably more than anything else, brings the internet’s capacity for violence closer to home. It is jarring that a playwright, not just a wannabe-medieval warrior, can reach radical groups within a couple of clicks.” – The Wee Review
★★★★ “You have to lean in and aim for total concentration: it’s as fast as any shoot ’em up, and just as violent. It’s also compassionate.” – Fest
“As well as the subject matter being unique and unusual, the presentation style is also refreshingly innovative… A rare chance to go somewhere where you’re not allowed to go. Exactly what to make of what you find there is for you to decide for yourself.” – The Greater Manchester Reviewer
“The play is cleverly structured, weaving together three stories of alienated individuals with some persuasive political argument… Visually it’s stunning.” – Quiet Man Dave
“This bold one-man show casts a strikingly honest light on ‘men, politics and the internet’ in contemporary society.” – Mancunian Matters
“An ambitious, challenging and an innovative political play on extremism, technology and male violence… Takes audience participation to new heights.” – Caught in the Act
“An important piece of theatre. [Javaad Alipoor’s] performance is compelling and he possesses a knack for storytelling that successfully entices audiences and makes us believe that we are truly in this dystopian digital world.” – Afroanalysis
“A very special artist, and a very strong voice” – Madani Younis, Artistic Director, Bush Theatre
Co-commissioned by HOME, Ovalhouse and Transform. Supported by funding from Arts Council England.
Want to learn more about The Believers Are But Brothers?
Javaad Alipoor is a writer and director, and sometimes performer. He is resident associate director at Sheffield Theatres, and an associate director of Theatre in the Mill. His work comes from discussions and workshops with communities that don’t usually engage with mainstream theatre. His recent theatre work has included My Brother’s Country – about the murder of Iranian dissident and pop star Fereydoun Farrokhzad (Theatre in the Mill, The Lowry, The Arc), Orgreave: An English Civil War (Theatre in the Mill) and The Rising of the Moon (a promenade community led play about the failed Bradford Chartist Rising commissioned by Bradford Festival). His poetry has been published by Art in Unusual Places and a number of poetry journals and his fiction and writing about politics and theology has appeared in Critical Muslim and books published by UnKant and Continuum.
Read this Guardian feature.
- Follow @JavaadAlipoor on Twitter
- Visit Javaad Alipoor’s website