For actors, playwrights and directors Issam Bou Khaled and Sarmad Louis, a play is a political statement and a way to express oneself freely, as evidenced by their company in Rihet el Anbar (“Amber Smoke”), a play written in response to the explosion in the port of Beirut on 4 August 2020. In order to raise funds for the victims of the explosion, a hostess on stage (a famous actress and social activist) invites them to testify via a Zoom meeting: a businessman and his socialite wife, a political activist, a Filipino maid, a female firefighter, a Syrian worker participate. In its stage version the “virtual online meeting” mixes with live theatre, and the real, rough stories on the lips of those who have lived them mix with the dramatised stories of those who interpret them… The testimonies initiate a reflection where truth and lies intertwine and become entangled. Who are the victims? Who are the culprits? Are we all sincere?

On Sunday 10 September at 12:00 there will be a brunch and discussion on the impact of theatre in Lebanon, with Michel Abou Khalil, Ali Chahrour, Issam Bou Khaled and Nivine Kallas.