7-23 February 2025 – 8.30 PM At Le Monnot Theatre, Achrafieh Performed by: Zeina Daccache, Sam Ghazal, Joseph Jules (Featuring Cynthya Karam)
Activist and director Zeina Daccache finds herself, after 13 years of voluntary imprisonment in Lebanese prisons (where she conducted drama therapy workshops, created theater performances with the prisoners and amended some unjust laws against them), in a moment of existential questioning with Joseph, a former prisoner who spent 30 years behind bars and worked closely with her during her time in prison.
The years away from what we deem as “normal life,” combined with the crushing weight and burden of economic, political, and social crises, have left them feeling out of place. Both feel trapped (this time, in a different kind of prison) as they seek to turn the page on past events and face more contemporary changes that shape their existence in a country and region marked by an uninterrupted succession of conflicts and war.
They are accompanied by Sam Ghazal, the young Lebanese stand-up comedian, whose humor and honest observations add refreshing perspectives to their journey.
The play is a blend of comedy and drama, it dives into themes of grief, finding closure from the past, motherhood and family crises, and dealing with a confusing and uncertain future. We smile at the friendships formed between different generations and backgrounds. By sharing their personal stories, the characters seek meaning in a chaotic world, inviting the audience to join them on an inspiring journey filled with hope.
Tickets on Sale at Antoine /Antoineticketing.com/ or 81 543 966
For more info, please contact us on 09914932/03336932/[email protected]
About Zeina Daccache:
BA Theatre Studies, MA Clinical Psychology, Registered Drama Therapist (NADTA), Board Certified Trainer (NADTA), Founder of Catharsis- Lebanese Center for Drama Therapy
Zeina, through the NPO she founded in 2007, Catharsis-Lebanese Center for Drama Therapy, brought the innovative tools of drama therapy to Lebanon. In 2009, she produced and directed the theatre production “12 Angry Lebanese” with inmates of Roumieh Prison. This pioneering production as well as the documentary that emerged from the process received international acclaim (8 Awards for the film) and led to the implementation of Law 463 in 2009 (the reduction of sentences for good behavior). In 2012, she created the play “Scheherazade in Baabda”, with women inmates of Baabda prison where they shared their personal stories in an attempt to heal their wounds and hold up a mirror to Lebanese society about the oppression of women. Her 2nd feature documentary “Scheherazade’s Diary” wins 10 international awards and pushes for a serious stance on having laws to protect women against domestic violence. In April 2014, a bill for the protection of women and members of the family passes in the Lebanese parliament.
She also implemented drama therapy sessions and produced and directed theatre plays with several disadvantaged populations that lobbied also for policy change, such as with Migrant Domestic Workers (Shebaik Lebaik, 2014) and residents in psychiatric hospitals (From the Bottom of my brain, 2013).
In 2016, she directed the play “Johar… Up in the Air” interpreted by the Roumieh inmates, that conveyed the messages of the mentally ill inmates and those sentenced to life to the society and decision makers. Also The Blue Inmates, the internationally acclaimed documentary produced in 2021, emerged from the process, and lobbied for the 2 draft laws aiming for a suitable Legislation for Mentally ill Inmates & Inmates Sentenced to Life, prepared by Catharsis and submitted to the Lebanese Parliament in 2016.
Moreover, she offers individual therapy at her private practice clinic and she works with staff from corporations, NGOs, INGOs, etc. who wish to increase their productivity, and enhance their interpersonal and communication skills. She teaches Drama Therapy at several Universities in Lebanon and in the Region.
She is the recipient of many awards given for her distinguished contributions to the field of social initiatives and services.
Links to Zeina Daccache Previous Plays and Films:
Trailer Film THE BLUE INMATES by Zeina Daccache
AND ALL HER 3 FILMS ARE AVAILABLE ON www.dafilms.com
The play :Johar up in the air (2016)
The play: Scheherazade in Baabda (2012)
12 Angry Lebanese-the play (2009)
The play: Shebaik Lebaik (2014-2015)
The play: From the Bottom of my Brain (2013)
About Sam Ghazal:
Sam, born in 2000, is a famous stand-up comedian in Beirut, since 2021. With performances in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, he has shared the stage with notable other Lebanese comedians such as Chaker Bou Abdalla and Nour Hajjar. Sam joined Nour Hajjar on his Arab-Turkey tour, showcasing his comedy talent across diverse venues. In addition to his comedy career, Sam studied musicology and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Music Education.
About Joseph Jules:
Joseph, 57 year old man, spent his teenage years in the turmoil of the Lebanese Civil War, joining Militias at 14 years old and ending up in prison in 1991, in the last year of the civil war. His crime costed him a Life Sentence. In 2006, Joseph meets Zeina Daccache, an activist/drama therapist/play and film director, in Roumieh Prison-Lebanon, and navigates with her for years on a journey of artistic/advocacy projects, acting in theatre plays performed in prison to the wide audience, and in internationally award-winning documentaries directed by Zeina, lobbying and advocating for several laws, among them “the reduction of sentences for good behavior” – law 463 – that he succeeds in having it implemented in 2009 after highlighting it to Zeina, and the latter working on it on all levels (theatre, film, direct meetings with decision makers, etc.). Joseph gets out of prison end of 2021, after 30 years, benefiting from the reduction of his sentence – benefiting from the same law he advocated for. He is back to a country, suffering from different traumas: economic crisis, the Beirut Blast, the Gaza war nearby and lately the war in Lebanon.