Syrian conflict play showcases in Lebanon

CAIRO – 23 October 2017: A theatrical performance depicting the Syrian conflict called “Baynama Kont Antazer” (While I Was Waiting) is currently being displayed in Beirut, Lebanon at Duwar El Shams Theater.

The play itself can’t be performed in Syria, according to the director, Omar Abu Saada, because of censorship and the limits imposed on creativity and topics; the state-run news agency Egynews reported.

“While I Was Waiting” is based on a true story about a young man who was found unconscious due to constant beating and physical abuse. He later died and his body was found near a hospital in Damascus in 2013; however, details on his death remain vague to this day.

Abu Saada is in contact with the man’s family and personally knew him. He stated that two years ago he was searching for a new idea for a theatrical performance and decided to depict this young’s man story in the play.

The play depicts a certain phase in the young man’s life as he is stuck between life and death, while his family is concerned and are in a state of confusion and loss. This theatrical performance resembles the actual suffering of Syrians around the globe, not only in Syria, who anxiously await the end of the war.
 
Abu Saada also added that Syrians have changed after the 2011 uprising in many forms, including their perception of death, ties to life, and social causes that were all expressed through art.

He further explains that all humans have lost loved ones in one way or another, whether to death, travel, or prison; creating a traumatic change within an individual. “All Syrians today are agents in the experience of loss and grief,”he added in the statement.