by ALINE SARA
Image from Scheherazade in Baabda, a play performed by the women inmates of Baabda Prison, Lebanon. PHOTO/Dalia Khamissy/ Catharsis-LCDT.
Rarely does one consider prison a site for entertainment and performing arts. Last spring however, Zeina Daccache – a certified NADT drama therapist and founder of Lebanon’s drama therapy program Catharsis – transformed the 3rd floor of Baabda prison, Lebanon’s largest female detention center, into a stage for inmates to express themselves through tears and laughter.
Drama therapy, which uses theater for personal and mental growth, has grown increasingly popular over the years. It is often used in schools, hospitals, detention and rehab centers to help those struggling with personal problems. Daccache is keen on expanding the concept to Lebanon, where prison is infamous for its harsh, near dismal, living conditions.
Two summers ago, I had the honor of partaking in a workshop organized by Daccache in Roumieh Prison, Lebanon’s most notorious detention center. Originally built for 1,500, Roumieh Prison now holds some 3,700 inmates, of which some 2,800 are still awaiting their trial.
After a few minutes I had forgotten I was mingling with prisoners, some of whom are convicted of murder. In 2009, those inmates had taken to the stage within Roumieh’s walls performing in “12 Angry Lebanese,” a play adapted from the original “12 Angry Men.” The audience included prisoner’s families as well as Lebanese lawmakers.
For Daccache, a 32-year-old graduate in clinical psychology and drama therapy, “12 Angry Lebanese” was the first such type of endeavor. Last May, she reproduced a similar project with female inmates called “Scheherazade in Baabda,” which highlights both female prisoners’ daily struggles and increased vulnerability as women living in a conservative and patriarchal society.
Drawn from sessions of brainstorming with the women in Baabda prison, the play was created in only a few months. “There were things that were more touching, to which I could relate and which probably helped me write the play,” Daccache tells me after the performance. “But everyone’s input was taken into account. It’s a collaboration in which the women are writing their own stories” she insists, clearly passionate and dedicated to the causes of both prisoners and women in her country.
The 45-minute performance, comprised partly of nostalgic soliloquies of mothers reminiscing about their children to the mere sight of the sea, takes the audience on a poignant journey into these women’s lives.
In more rebellious instances, the protagonists lash out at the country’s patriarchal system and twisted view of women and their role. “Adultery, for instance, is considered a crime in Lebanon. Women will be thrown in prison for cheating on their husbands, but I’ve never seen a man in prison for adultery,” Daccache tells me.
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