Tracing the journey of immigrants

YEARS ago, a close friend of Amir Reza Koohestani decided to leave his homeland of Iran to seek out a better life in the UK. After successfully smuggling himself into Britain, he lived there illegally for two short years only - before returning to Iran for good.

"The reason he came back to Iran was vague to me, he didn't clarify why," recalls Koohestani, who is one of the leading figures of Iranian theatre. "But he told me he wasn't happy with his life in Britain. So he came back, got married and had a kid."

Koohestani was intrigued enough by t…