Manizja Kouhestani
Director
Manizja Kouhestani graduated in 2025 from KASK Drama, the Ghent-based programme for theatre makers and performers. She made an immediate impression with her graduation piece My Nemesis, which she co-created with fellow performer Fiene Zasada. In addition, Kouhestani has already appeared in productions by tg STAN, De Roovers, De Warme Winkel, Dood Paard, Thomas Bellinck & Said Reza Adib, and Atta Nasser. CAMPO is now inviting Manizja Kouhestani to dive into the studio and further develop the potential of her nascent maker’s practice.
For Kouhestani, a new project rarely begins with a form, but rather with a question, an image, or a sentence. In her graduation work, she zoomed in on the phenomenon of jealousy between women. However, the work also took a broader perspective and distinguished itself through biting humour regarding identity issues. In My Nemesis, both performers adopt a very different identity, drawing on various aspects of their identities: from their beauty and sexuality to their ethnicity and traumas. The result is a performance featuring sharp dialogues and a battle on the cutting edge.
The focus of her current research trajectory at CAMPO arose from a question in the children's play Ghurba at DE MAAN, in which she performs: “What if the monster in my head never goes away?” That thought became the starting point for a broader investigation into our inner voice and how we deal with that inner critic.
Kouhestani is currently immersing herself in themes such as the inner critic, the counter-voice, cognitive behavioural therapy, and automatic thoughts, as well as shame and vulnerability. Her reading list currently includes Malina by Ingeborg Bachmann and My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh, alongside texts by David Foster Wallace.
Kouhestani enjoys collaborating, but consciously chooses a small circle of people she trusts. Mentors and makers around her play an important role in her process. She mentions writer and theatre maker Luanda Casella, who helps her sharpen her texts, and actor Jan Steen, who taught her much about acting. For her, such collaborations are not hierarchical relationships, but exchanges in which ideas are tested.
How did her love for theatre begin? Kouhestani laughs: "I talk a lot and I love doing it!" This talkativeness is reflected in her still-young body of work, which is characterised by sharp, self-written texts and an alienating physical style of acting.
By creating artistic work, she gives shape to phenomena she does not understand, things she reacts against, and injustices that need to be named. For her, the rehearsal studio is a free zone for thinking, reading, and developing her artistic voice. With recognisable themes, she hopes to touch the audience and lead them into the world she opens through her performance.
With her fearless approach and biting scripts, Manizja Kouhestani is an emerging artistic voice to watch closely!
