My Persian sci-fi musical, and why my mum's the star

HOSSEI is an Sydney-based artist and costume designer. His own career was put on hold in 2015, when his mum Nahid suffered a stroke and he became her full-time carer. The family had left Iran in the 1980s, in the turbulent years after the Islamic revolution. Nahid sacrificed her tight-knit family network, her successful teaching career, and a sense of her own identity in Iran, to give her three young children a better life in Australia and adjusting to this new reality was hard. After the knock to her health in later life, she withdrew from the world.

It was during their domestic isolation that HOSSEI's creativity began to flourish again. He began writing down the funny and insightful things his mum said, turned them into lyrics, and created a stage play for her to star in called Thunderbloom. He describes it as a Persian sci-fi pop musical, the ultimate celebration of all mums and carers. Set in outer space, it brought them both back in touch with the joys of life on earth.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen

Producer: Elena Angelides

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: A photograph of HOSSEI and his mum Nahid standing side by side, holding hands, singing joyfully, wearing matching fuchsia suits. Credit: HOSSEI)