A delightful evening for the senses. Zan, Zendegī, Āzādī (Women, life, freedom)
Bobak Champion’s I’m Muslamic Don’t Panik invites its audience to be immersed in a
world of storytelling, hip-hop and Bristolian and Iranian culture. Bobak welcomes the
audience in Farsi, at times offering an English translation, though his attention to
gesture and movements proves comprehensive enough. From the performances
beginning, a warm and genuine tone is set, and the interactiveness with the audience
proves to establish this quest to share a tale.
The set of I’m Muslmaic Don’t Panik, encapsulates the skills and varying identities that
Bobak both possesses and exhibits. A saxophone, family portraits, perfumes, and
Iranian trophies decorate the stage. In fact, this representative set is seen to reach
further than the stage, with Iranian tea, biscuits and Palestinian dates awaiting us post
show, further proving this piece to be wider than Bobak’s hour on stage.
The performance is rich in its storytelling. Bobak performs four different characters, all
cleanly transitioned into through a breakdance movement and beatbox. Notably, the
contrast in lighting and sound certainly aids the differentiation in characters, switching
from the dim lights of a bar to the house lights as Bobak narrates his story. Bobak
portrays Rob, a Bristolian pub local, who utters xenophobic remarks from his bar seat.
Moreover, we meet the bartender, who offers an explanation of his customers’ language and introduces us to the reality within this Bristolian boozer.
The characters are revisited throughout the performance, alongside our initial
Farsi-speaking Bobak, who strives to break the high tension with returns to dance and
audience interaction. When we are finally introduced to everyday Bobak, we learn that
this performance is not just a demonstration of skill and illustration of heritage, but an
opportunity to share overlooked stories. Bobak utilises his physicality and beatbox to
voice the story of the women who ran the marathon in Iran, yet were unrecognised and
ignored for their achievement by the officials. This contrast in characterisation brings a
realness to the performance and places his use of clowning in parallel to lived realities.
Multi-media and prop use is strong in the performance. Bobak’s saxophone playing is
rather moving, and his involvement of local breakdancers to perform a reenactment of
his childhood encounters with Iranian breakdancers is wholesome and unquestionably
impressive. Where this story holds so much richness, it somewhat lacks in its fullness
as a performance piece. The characters contradictions do speak truths, though I think a
greater attention to the individuals interconnectivity would really underline Bobak’s
message. In neatening the storylines of the characters, alongside an already neat
movement choreography, I believe this piece could provide a unique and rounded
representation of Bobak’s experience of being an Irian-Bristolian man. Nevertheless, I’m
Muslamic Don’t Panik, truly showcases both skill and care and expresses important
discussions within todays world.