The Long Goodbye: Livestream Edition
Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor
Musician, storyteller, actor and activist, Riz Ahmed will perform The Long Goodbye via a livestream this December.
The live stage show of The Long Goodbye, commissioned by MIF, was originally meant to premiere in March 2020 – but was postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now this one-off digital performance, which uses binaural sound, has been specially developed for audiences to experience from home.
A fierce blend of storytelling, music, archive footage and immersive sound.
Following on from his recent acclaimed album of the same name, The Long Goodbye takes “a close-up look at the breakup of a toxic relationship with the country you call home”. In a fierce blend of storytelling, music, archive footage and immersive sound, the piece explores Ahmed’s complicated relationship with the UK.
Performed by Ahmed and directed by Kirsty Housley, who co-directed Tao of Glass at MIF 2019, the digital piece also incorporates creative direction from Andrea Gelardin and innovative sound design by Gareth Fry.
The piece explores Ahmed’s complicated relationship with the UK.
Ahmed has starred in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Venom, Four Lions, Nightcrawler, and the final season of the hit HBO show Girls. He also took the spotlight as the first South Asian actor to win an acting Emmy for his lead role in HBO’s The Night Of.
As a musician, Ahmed started out as a rap battle champion on the London music scene. He then went on to write and perform as a solo artist and as part of rap group Swet Shop Boys. His provocative solo release, Post 9/11 Blues, was banned before a groundswell forced it onto the radio. His other incendiary releases, as part of Swet Shop Boys, include Cashmere and Mogambo, which have both toured to sold-out live shows.
The team at MIF are working to reschedule a new date in 2021 for the world premiere of the live stage show of The Long Goodbye. Until then, this online performance, although a different type of experience, offers an insight into the energy, emotion and themes we can expect from Ahmed’s work.
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