Tamsin Greig, Shaparak Khorsandi, Shala Nyx Cast in DAUGHTERS OF PERSIA at Kings Place

Daughters of Persia is a special, one-off evening of music and words, created by British pianist Margaret Fingerhut and Iranian composer Farhad Poupel with all proceeds supporting the creation of scholarships for exceptional young women artists from Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

Both entertaining and moving, the event shines light on one of the world's greatest cultures – Persia – and celebrates it through the stories of its women.

With the script brought together by the Oscar and BAFTA-nominated screenwriter William Nicholson (Gladiator, Les Misérables), it is now announced that Shaparak Khorsandi, Tamsin Greig and Shala Nyx join the cast of Daughters of Persia as Narrators who will perform alongside Margaret Fingerhut (piano), Bradley Creswick (violin) and Guy Johnston (cello).

Shaparak Khorsandi is a comedian, author, speaker and advocate for human rights. She established herself as one of the UK's finest comedians with her sell-out Edinburgh show, Asylum Speaker. Despite the basis for the show being her experiences as a child refugee fleeing Iran, Shaparak's sensitive yet witty exploration of these events created an instant comedy smash hit.

It also led to the publication of her childhood memoirs, A Beginner's Guide To Acting English, her best-selling literary debut.

Shaparak has appeared on countless tv & radio shows, including: Live at The Apollo, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, I'm a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here, Mock The Week, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, MasterChef, Have I Got News For You, QI, Pointless Celebrities, Question Time and Just a Minute, as well as her own show, Shappi Talk.

Shaparak Khorsandi said: “As a daughter of Persia myself, I am so excited to be part of an evening celebrating the incredible women of our history.”

Tamsin Greig is one of the UK's most celebrated and versatile actors who has established herself as a comedian and a stage actor, alongside extensive work on screen.

Greig won her first Laurence Olivier Award for her role of Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, also winning the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Shakespearean Performance, becoming the first woman to ever win the award. She later starred in God of Carnage alongside Ralph Fiennes and Ken Scott, which won the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2009. She then appeared in David Hare's Gethsemane before starring and receiving her second Olivier nomination in The Little Dog Laughed at the Garrick Theatre. Her other credits include Jumpy (Royal Court, then transferred to the West End's Duke of York's Theatre), Longing (Hampstead Theatre), Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Playhouse Theatre - another Olivier Award nomination), Twelfth Night (National Theatre) and Labour of Love (Noel Coward Theatre), among many others.

Outside the theatre, Tamsin has appeared in many television shows including Friday Night Dinner as Jackie, in BBC's Love Soup as Alice Chenery, as Fran Katzenjammer in Black Books and Dr Caroline Todd in Green Wing. She also starred in Cuckoo alongside Richard E Grant and later in Tamara Drewe.

Tamsin Greig said: “I'm delighted to be participating as one of the narrators in Daughters of Persia - a wonderful celebration of the women and female characters who populate the rich history of Iranian literature and storytelling. To be accompanying such accomplished and lauded musicians is an honour, and an inspired way of raising funds to support the next generation of artists from those regions.”

Shala Nyx is an actor rooted to London who trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Her early career began as a stage actress in Fame at The London Palladium. For television Shala plays Somerset in the all female Shakespeare production of Henry VI (BBC), and is popular in shows such as Casualty and Eastenders (BBC). For film, most recently Shala played Gita in The Old Guard (Netflix), and as Rachel in Knock Down Ginger (BFI Films). For stage, Shala has played titles roles of Rayah in Cookies (Royal Theatre Haymarket) and Asha in the two-hander Two Billion Beats (Orange Tree) among many more. Shala has received many accolades for her theatre and humanitarian efforts in shows such as Kabul Goes Pop and A Thousand Splendid Suns (UK National Tours) to name a few.

As a voiceover artist, Shala provides the voices for many of the world's leading animation series, video games and documentaries, including Untold (Channel 4). Shala plays the lead role of Sciel in the record breaking ‘2025 Game Of The Year' Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Games). Shala also lends her expertise as a motion capture and voice artist in the multi-award-winning Baldur's Gate III (Larian Studios). Shala is thrilled to be a series regular in an upcoming Disney series set to premiere this summer.

Shala Nyx said: “I'm deeply honoured to be part of Daughters of Persia, especially now as Iranian women courageously fight for their rights and freedoms. This production celebrates the enduring strength of Persian women including the powerful women of Afghanistan and Central Asia who share this magnificent heritage and all have their own stories of brilliance to tell. I hope audiences will be transported by these timeless stories and inspired by these extraordinary women.”

Daughters of Persia features a new commission from Farhad Poupel The Laughter of Gordafarid for narrator and piano, with music by fellow Iranians Reza Vali, Aftab Darvishi and Golnoush Khaleghi, one of the first female conductors in Iran.  There will also be much-loved music by Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Ravel and Pablo Casals performed by a trio of piano, violin and cello.

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