Isfahan Calling tells the story of a team of British journalists broadcasting covert radio propaganda into contemporary Iran; their mission is to discredit the regime in Tehran and demoralise Iranian army units across the border. An eruption of international tensions coincides with the arrival of Zahra, an idealistic young recruit seeking revenge for the exile of her parents during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. As coalition forces launch a pre-emptive attack against Iranian nuclear facilities, she enthusiastically throws herself behind the war effort. Victory seems inevitable until Roy, Zahra´s new boss, makes a devastatingly ill-judged broadcast. Suddenly the rigid certainties to which the team have clung so hard – justice and the moral high ground – begin to melt away.

Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the 1979 revolution and proposed new efforts by the Obama White House to engage with the Islamic world, Isfahan Calling explores the dark realities of psychological warfare, cultural exile and the challenge of choosing sides in a war of ideas.

Isfahan Calling is the new play from Philip de Gouveia whose debut piece, The Six Wives Of Timothy Leary, was described by Time Out as “An insightful piece of writing”.