Metro Arts & BEMAC Creative Development Residency: Running with Wild Horses

Running with Wild Horses is an interdisciplinary performance in development with Metro Arts and BEMAC throughout 2026, blending theatre, Persian electro-acoustic music/sound, autobiographical spoken word/rap, and immersive staging.

Deliberately dissolving boundaries between theatre, concert, and protest ritual Running with Wild Horses translates lived refugee experiences into a powerful narrative of displacement, resistance, and survival.

The production follows an Iranian-born refugee activist whose past resurfaces when mistaken for an escapee during the 2002 Woomera protests. As memory and the present collide, Running with Wild Horses explores displacement, survival, and belonging through rhythm, storytelling, and striking stage imagery. An immersive environment dissolves traditional audience–performer boundaries, inviting audiences into a shared, embodied experience.

“This work comes from a deeply personal place. It’s about survival, but also about beauty; how even in moments of fear, there’s rhythm, connection, and a kind of wildness that refuses to be contained.” –  Siyavash Doostkhah, Running with Wild Horses creator

Siyavash Doostkhah – Director, composer, performer
Greta Kelly – Musician, live processing, composer, producer
Courtney Stewart-Smith – Directorial consultant
Kathryn Marquet – Dramaturge
Andrew Gibbs – Live video installation artist
Arash Zanganeh – Musician, composer
Benjamin Shannon – Musician, composer
James Clark / Tonepacer – Sound engineer
Stephanie Ganfield – Stage manager

The Metro Arts & BEMAC Creative Development Residency is a dynamic 12-month program supporting Australian artists to develop ambitious contemporary works from concept to presentation-ready stage. This collaboration combines Metro Arts’ expertise in artist pathway development and industry connections with BEMAC’s specialised knowledge in cross-cultural collaboration and cultural safety, creating a comprehensive support ecosystem

Image: Ange Costes Photography and Morteza Esmaili

BEMAC is a subsidiary of SSI and supported by Arts Queensland through the Queensland Government.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
This project is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.