Audience Award for Niyousha Azari

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We warmly congratulate Niyousha Azari on winning the Körber Studio 2026 Audience Award! The festival is considered the most important platform for up-and-coming directors in the German-speaking world. With PostHarām, Niyousha Azari succeeds in creating a sensitively told and multi-layered evening of theater about the realities of life for Islamic women in contemporary Arab societies.

Azari cleverly interweaves the experiences of young women who have to assert themselves in Muslim patriarchal structures and are confronted with violence, traditional role models and forced marriage. The powerful text by Malak Jayeola Aderounmu, supported by a sensitive directing and dramaturgical concept, makes storytelling itself, which is a central Arab tradition, the subject.

The unruffled nature of the characters who share their stories and the haunting work of a well-rehearsed and authentic ensemble create an evening that expresses hope. Ultimately, it is the strength of the women that shows that no religion, no man and no social circumstance can take away their dignity.

We look forward to the next production by Niyousha Azari on Friday, June 26 at 6 p.m. and Sunday, June 28 at 3 p.m. at the Thalia Theater in Gaußstraße.