Our friend Joseph Ataman has written a piece about Antigone, while also connecting the work of Zeina Daccache and her organisation, Catharsis.
BBC report
Note of clarification
On December 9th, 2014, a fundraiser for the Antigone of Syria project took place at the Courtyard Theatre in London. This was an evening organised by an independent individual that had no professional affiliation with Aperta Productions. Neither the creative team nor the actresses in Lebanon had any knowledge of the event whatsoever.
Arab Review watches Antigone
The question about this remarkable group of women was not whether they could act or not; the problem is that, for the past four years, they have done nothing but act. Silenced by the tyranny of Syria’s war, they began the Antigone workshops afraid of using the pronoun “I” when telling anecdotes. With this play they finally reclaimed their opinions and identities and brought courage and honesty to two worlds; a Syria of fear and antagonism and a West governed by media hyperbole.
NPR's radio & print story on Antigone of Syria
Barefoot in a yoga studio in Lebanon's capital Beirut, a couple dozen actresses raise voices and stretch bodies that had grown used to being quiet and still.
"Go on," they cry as a clapping exercise speeds up, and they fill the room with whoops and uninhibited yells.
But these women aren't professional actresses. In fact, they're refugees from Syria, and this production of the Greek tragedy Antigone is a project designed to help them deal with their trauma.
French agency TV5Monde on Antigone of Syria
Avec plus d'un million de réfugiés syriens, plus que tout autre pays de la région, le Liban vit de plein fouet et au quotidien la crise syrienne qui dure depuis bientôt quatre ans. Parmi eux, les femmes sont nombreuses et des associations tentent de leur apporter une aide particulière. Une vingtaine d'exilées syriennes sont ainsi devenues comédiennes le temps de quelques soirées de représentation d'une pièce de théâtre mythique.
Italian story on Antigone of Syria in Il Reportage
Dopo giorni di pioggia battente finalmente Beirut si era svegliata con una luce serena e calda; il sole di una tarda mattinata di primavera nei primi giorni di dicembre. Bloccati nel traffico di Hamra, come al solito, avevamo dovuto chiedere all’autista di farci scendere prima per continuare a piedi e arrivare in tempo a destinazione.
Avevo chiesto qualche giorno prima la possibilità di assistere alle prove di “Antigone of Syria”, un workshop teatrale quotidiano di due mesi, che ha debuttato con la prima di tre repliche, mercoledì 10 dicembre, nel più importante teatro di Beirut, il Madina.
Antigone of Syria by Oliver Holmes at Reuters
Some Lebanese people complain that the refugees are taking their jobs, driving down wages and overloading schools and hospitals, and the Lebanese government has asked the international community for funds to help look after them on the grounds that it cannot cope with the influx.
One performer, Mona Fa, said she felt elated when the audience gave a standing ovation on the play's opening night. "We wanted to deliver a certain image to the people so they see us and the Syrian refugees in another way from the image they usually look at," she said.
iloubnan review Antigone
Knowing that none of these women had any experience with performing, and that, for many, it was their first time in a theatre, made their performances even more touching. The audience appreciated the resilience they showed as they told their heart-breaking personal tragedies in front of complete strangers.
Antigone, the play’s heroine is almost seen as a role model for the cast. She, who defies the King and decides to give her brother a proper burial despite his objection, is looked upon with reverence. The women try to work out which role they should have in the play, the brave Antigone or her more subordinate sister, Ismene. To the audience, they were all Antigones.
