BLIND RUNNER to be Presented at South Coast Repertory

South Coast Repertory will present the international multimedia hit Blind Runner, a Mehr Theatre Group production, with text and direction by award-winning Iranian theatre artist Amir Reza Koohestani.  Performed entirely in Persian with English supertitles, Blind Runner runs Oct. 18-Nov. 8 on the Julianne Argyros Stage.

This marks Blind Runner's West Coast debut and it's second United States engagement, the previous being at New York's prestigious St. Ann's Warehouse in January 2025 as part of the Under the Radar Festival. Blind Runner is presented in association with University of California, Irvine's Claire Trevor School of the Arts Department of Drama. SCR's cultural partner is the Farhang Foundation. Blind Runner features performers Mohammad Aghebati and Ainaz Azarhoush, both making their SCR debuts.

The Play

Blind Runner interweaves the destinies of three Iranians. At the insistence of his wife, a political prisoner, a man agrees to help a blind woman train for a race in Paris. After placing third, they take on a second challenge. Can they run the 38-kilometer Channel Tunnel from France to the UK in a few hours to avoid being hit by the first train of the morning?

The play premiered at the Kunstenfestivaldearts in Brussels, Belgium in May 2023, it went to Berlin, Athens, Groningen, Netherlands, Marseille, Paris, Milan and Turin in Italy, Switzerland, and Bonn, before ending the year with French stops in Lille, Roubaix and Montpelier. In 2024, it played Munich, Venice and Seoul, before going to New York, Hamburg and Düsseldorf. It received a 2026 Obie Award Special Citation for its ensemble.

Mehr Theatre Group

Blind Runner, marks the first partnership between SCR and Mehr Theatre Group, founded in 1996 in Shiraz, Iran as an acting workshop that seeks to create productions distinct from traditional theatre and heavily influenced by cinema. Based in Paris since 2008 and administered by French producer Pierre Reis, the company works between Tehran and exile, bringing together artists inside and outside Iran and regularly collaborating with non-Iranian designers and composers.

Post-Show Discussions

Actor Talks: Members of the cast will participate in post-show discussions on Wednesday, Oct. 28 and Thursday, Nov. 5.

Terrace Talk: A new feature this season, Terrace Talk takes SCR’s popular Actor Talks outdoors under the stars for a more casual, interactive experience on Sunday, Oct. 25.

Community Conversation: A presentation and discussion surrounding a theme specific to Blind Runner will take place Sunday, Nov. 1.

Inside the Season

Saturday, Oct. 31 from 10:30 a.m.-noon.

Led by members of SCR's literary staff, this lively 90-minute session includes in-depth interviews with cast members and artists from the production staff, revealing secrets and offering insights into each play. Tickets are $14 and may be purchased in advance or at the door.

Audio-Described Performance

An audio-described performance featuring live translation and verbal commentary for the visually impaired will take place Saturday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m.