For more information please visit our website www.apertaproductions.org

 Antigone of Syria

In September 2014 in Beirut, we began holding a two-month drama workshop for 35 Syrian women refugees. The workshops have consisted of physical exercises, theatre games that build confidence and trust, open discussions and debate, as well as the sharing of the women’s tragic personal stories. We have also been running a nursery for the children of the participants.

With Sophocles’ Antigone as the framework, we are currently imbedding these women’s personal stories into the text. Antigone’s themes of pride, civil rebellion, family divide, and the place of women during conflict, are all deeply related to the current situation in Syria. This updated version of the ancient Greek play will reflect the realities for women caught up in the Syrian conflict as we aim to provide these forgotten victims of war with a voice.

After two months’ of hard work in rehearsal, we are performing the play November 27-29, 2014 at Al Madina Theatre in Hamra, Beirut. We have been filming the rehearsal process and will record the performances in an attempt to have as wide an outreach as possible. We are focusing a great deal of effort in attracting attention to the play through our large array of international media contacts. In attendance we expect a mixture of refugees and their families, Lebanese locals, and expatriates living and working in the area. Beyond that we hope that the film can reach and empower individuals long after we’ve left Lebanon.

Previous Work

In a project produced by Refuge Productions, last year we were involved in devising a new version of Euripides’ Trojan Women with refugees in Jordan. The production received enormous international critical acclaim. In terms of the psychological and cultural experience of the women involved, they found it immensely rewarding.  All 40 of them expressed instant feelings of identification with the ancient Greek characters of the text that were also forced into exile and bereavement. All 40 also felt empowered by their first experience of being culturally engaged and by being asked their own opinion. Now none of the women want to stay at home any longer. They all want to work. Two now want to be actresses.

 The workshops in Jordan allowed participants to rediscover their sense of purpose. By socialising and working with the same group of women every day, the participants gained a sense of community in the midst of dislocation. The same is true for their children. This project offered the women and children a sense of belonging.

 The money raised will go to…

A two-month drama workshop for 35 Syrian women refugees.

  It will pay for…

           A top team of theatre professionals to run the workshop, devise the new text, and direct the resulting performances   

         •           Paying the women each a salary for their hard work (this is more than 25% of our budget)

         •           A rehearsal venue for two months

         •           A nursery for the children of the women involved

         •           Transportation and food for the women during the rehearsal period

         •           A performance venue, lighting and costumes

         •           A marketing operation for the final performance

         •           The filming of the entire process by a team of trained filmmakers

         •           Publishing of the final text in both Arabic and English so that the show might have a future life

 And no more than 10% administration costs

The Team

Itab Azzam

I am a Syrian filmmaker with a background in fiction and documentary projects. In 2012 I made two short films, ‘Live in Homs’ and ‘An Artist in Exile’. My extensive work for television includes the BBC’s ‘Syrian School’, ‘East West’, a series for TRT, SBS and France 5 and ‘Bizarre Foods: Syria’ for the Travel Channel. I am also a UK co-ordinator for the Syrian charity Mattar. My hope and aim is to instill in the participants once more a sense of purpose and identity, something that they have lost as a result of their displacement.

Hal Scardino

The reason that we have chosen theatre as a medium through which to work with these women is because of its immense capacity to unify. The artistic side of the project will also allow the women to express themselves in a free and creative manner. With over twenty years of experience as a film & theatre actor and producer in London and New York, I will encourage the women and the creative team to put together a piece of theatre that they can be proud of and that audiences want to see.

For more information please visit our website www.apertaproductions.org or email us:

itab@apertaproductions.com

hal@apertaproductions.com