A performer wears a headpiece that casts a shadow of a face against a projection of trees and the sun.
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Watch the Song of the North trailer!
Get a sneak peek at the show.

Song of the North

Fictionville Studio with support from Two Chairs
from Brooklyn, New York

March 15 – 23, 2025
Recommended Ages
For everyone 8 and up
Price
Tickets start at $24*
Members save 30%
 *Price includes service fees
What Kind of Show?
Shadow theater; adventurous and intricate
Running Time
80 minutes with no intermission
Venue
The New Victory Theater 209 W 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
public schools

Select a Performance

Available

Few Seats Left

Unavailable

Week of March 10 – 16

Mar 15

Sat, 2pm

Mar 15

Sat, 7pm

Mar 16

Sun, 12pm

Mar 16

Sun, 4pm

Week of March 17 – 23

Mar 21

Fri, 7pm

Get to know the performers and creative team at a Talk-Back!
Live sign-interpretation provided

Mar 22

Sat, 2pm

Mar 22

Sat, 7pm

Live audio-description provided

Mar 23

Sun, 12pm

Mar 23

Sun, 4pm

Key

  • Audio Described Performance
    Audio-Described

    Live audio-description provided

  • Audio Described Performance
    Sign-Interpreted

    Live sign-interpretation provided

  • Audio Described Performance
    Talk-Back

    Get to know the performers and creative team at a Talk-Back!

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About the Show

During a time of fragile peace between rival kingdoms, the princess Manijeh must summon all her strength and skills to rescue her beloved, Bijan, from a perilous predicament of her own making. Can their love quiet the drumbeat of war? Shadows from 9 performers and 483 handmade puppets play against stunning animated projections in a cinematic performance as epic as the story that inspired it. Pulled from the pages of the Shahnameh—the thousand-year-old Persian Book of Kings—Song of the North trumpets unity, compassion and the beauty of Iranian culture.

Created, designed and directed by Hamid Rahmanian

The whole family will be enchanted.

—The Music City Review

Things to Know

  1. What did that puppet say? Song of the North will feature captioning on screens throughout the theater.
  2. A literary masterpiece central to Persian language and culture, the Shahnameh preserves centuries of history and legends from pre-Islamic Iran.
  3. Find your seats before the show starts to get a glimpse of the performers setting up their hundreds of puppets and props on stage!

 

The show on stage is just one act of your experience! Come early or stay late for free lobby activities on the day of the show. Then whether you’re building anticipation, continuing the fun or looking for laughs at any time, at-home New Victory Arts Break activities await you whenever and wherever.

About the Artist

Iranian-American artist Hamid Rahmanian founded Fictionville Studio in 1998 to produce both documentary and narrative films. In the decades since, he has merged his love of traditional Persian art forms like illustration and shadow puppetry with the technology of modern theater to breathe new life into the beloved tales of the Shahnameh. This extends beyond the stage as well, with a new English translation of the full epic poem and colorful pop-up books of individual stories.

Photos
Photo: Richard Termine
Photo: Richard Termine
Photo: Richard Termine
Photo: Richard Termine
Photo: Richard Termine

Creative Team

Producer
Melissa Hibbard

Writers
Hamid Rahmanian and Melissa Hibbard

Puppet Designers
Saba Niknam and Hamid Rahmanian

Original Score Writer & Orchestrator
Loga Ramin Torkian

Accessibility

On the left, two shadow puppet people hold hands against a green background, and on the right, an ASL interpreter signs in front of a purple background.
Watch the Song of the North ASL-interpreted trailer!
Watch Trailer

For every performance at the New Victory Theater…

  • You can head downstairs to the Accessibility Table (across from the bathrooms and lockers) to borrow supports like fidgets, earplugs, assisted listening devices, wheelchairs and more.
  • Our quiet Cozy Zone and a live feed of the performance are available in the lower lobby at all times for patrons with sensory sensitivities or anyone who needs a break from the theater.
  • Wheelchair-accessible seats and Companion seat tickets are available for purchase (see more details on the seat selection page when buying tickets).

Additionally, every performance of Song of the North also features:

  • Captioning on screens in the left and right boxes for all three seating levels

 
Get additional accessibility details, and prepare for your visit with our New Victory Social Narrative.

An ASL interpreter signs a post-show talk-back inside the New Victory Theater.

Accessibility

Our facilities and programs

We strive to make our programs, performances and spaces accessible.

Interior of the New Victory Theater with stage lights in balcony

Plan Your Visit

Amenities and free activities

Dive into everything to know about seeing a show at the New Victory.

Two kids shown from behind in an at-home office as they watch a person on a computer screen speaking while holding three juggling pins

New Victory Arts Break

Explore the arts from home!

Flex your creativity and stretch your imagination.