Written by orange• October 28, 2026• 3:29 pm• Costa Mesa, South Coast Repertory, Theater, Uncategorized

Blind Runner @ South Coast Repertory – Review

photo Credit: Matt Stasi

Written by Patrick Chavis

Blind Runner is playing now at South Coast Repertory, Oct 18-Nov 8, 2026.

The production starts before a word is spoken, with booming, ethereal music by Phillip Hohenwarter and Matthias Peyker. A voice is heard, but I can’t make out what’s being said, along with the ticking of a clock.

During this, the two actors, Mohammad Aghebati and Ainaz Azarhoush, mimic each other’s movements through various exercises on a very dimly lit stage.

This Iranian story follows a couple, Mohammad Aghebati and Ainaz Azarhoush. Ainaz is in prison for her activism against the regime in Iran, and her husband, Mohammad, comes to visit her. Throughout the play, as a married couple, they joke and connect discreetly because they are in a prison. Ainaz convinces Mohammad to train a blind girl, Parissa, also played by Ainaz, for a race.

The play explores the struggles of living under a restrictive government, the lengths people will go to for freedom, what they leave behind, and so much more.

The show beautifully has the actors speak in the characters’ native language, which I think is awesome. I appreciate it when productions prioritize character authenticity and don’t just adapt the production for English speakers.

That being said, the placement of the English subtitles way high up on the top of the stage keeps your eyes so focused on the text to keep up with the play that I found myself having to decide between actually getting to see the actors on the stage act, which is what I’m there for, or actually understanding what they’re saying. Multiple subtitle spots on the stage might solve that, but I get that’s not the sexiest solution.

This shifted when the actors appeared in crisp, cinematic video projections that filled the black wall of the Julianne Argyros Stage, South Coast Reps’ second-smallest stage, since the Nicholas Studio stage is definitely the smallest of the three. Seeing both in full clarity helped a lot, making it easier to read the subtitles and follow the actor at the same time.

Ainaz Azarhoush plays two characters in this play: the wife and Parissa, the blind runner. There wasn’t much to distinguish them. It took some time to realize they were different people. This play definitely doesn’t hold your hand, and I think that’s largely intentional. The metaphor is that these women are in different situations, but their struggles are similar. The narrative intentionally blurs the line between these characters, possibly even Mohammad, shown visually through the multimedia at moments when his image meshes.

Both actors were very convincing and impressive under the circumstances. Given how minimalistic this production was, the acting holds it all together.

At 60 minutes with no intermission, the length is solid for this showing.

This showing presents some really powerful, intriguing ideas, and I enjoyed the visual design. Still, in some ways the dramatic weight of their circumstances gets sucked dry by this stylized approach.