Laughter amid the bombs

In an attempt to bring smiles back to the faces of those displaced in Lebanon, a troupe from Masrah al-Arab (the Arab's Theatre) organised a play entitled ‘Duhik Taht al Kasif’, or ‘Laughter amid the bombs’. "We want the whole world to see that the people refuse to give up, and that the theatre has an active and effective role in healing under these circumstances," said Sharif Abdunnur, director and scriptwriter of the play, which opened last Thursday in the capital, Beirut, and ran for three days. More than 700,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon, according to the country’s Higher Relief Council, since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party with a military wing, started on 12 July when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel has bombed many areas of Lebanon, particularly the south, while Hezbollah has responded by firing rockets into northern Israel. The play was intended to bring some comic relief to the thousands of people staying in temporary shelter in Beirut. Crowds of displaced people attended, mostly women and children. “The idea is to unite together as a community each night and laugh together in these hard times,” said Abdunnur. In ‘Laughter amid the bombs’, each of the actors tells their life story and what has happened to them during this conflict. "But some of the actors are missing, so audience members are selected at random and brought on to the stage to improvise and create a dialogue in the play about the current situation," said Abdunnur. The actors were made up of Masrah al-Arab staff and volunteers from the displaced families. The play was performed at Masrah al-Madina (the City's Theatre) and was free of charge, with costs covered by Abdunnur and his staff. LH/ED/MW