WUNRN
Syrian
Women Refugees in Jordan, Stage Adaptation of "The Trojan Women"
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WHAT: The Trojan Women theatre project is purely humanitarian. We
are putting on a series of drama workshops of Euripides’ 415BC Play The Trojan
Women with Syrian refugees, working towards staging a production of the play.
We are casting amateur Syrian refugee actors and employing Syrian refugee crew
where possible. Alongside this project and going into production this spring
will be a film based on the play, a separate entity, which will cast
participants from the workshops and the play alongside high profile
professional Syrian, Palestinian and British actors and crew.
Euripides’ The Trojan Women is set at the fall of
Troy. It is about the fate of the defeated and exiled. Weapons may
change but war is eternal and there are enormous parallels between the
fate of refugees from Syria today and that of the women of Troy. The women
of Syria have seen their homes destroyed and their families wounded and killed,
raped and brutalized, and have been forced to flee into exile. Enormously
powerful, The Trojan Women was written by Euripides in 415 BC as a reaction to
the appalling behaviour of Athens when it took the island of Melos - the
men were all killed and the women and children sold into slavery.
The documentary film maker Yasmin Fedaa is making a
documentary on the workshops and performance process, including interviews with
those involved. This will be shown everywhere from refugee camps to gala
screenings and film festivals internationally.
WHERE: The drama
workshops are running in Amman, Jordan for six week and culminate in a
production of the play.
WHEN: The workshop
process began on 6th November, with the opening night of the play on 17th
December 2013.
WHY: Our aim is to
provide employment and activity for refugees, to raise awareness of the refugee
crisis, to provide a legacy from the play project that the refugees will
own and be able to run themselves, and a documentary and recording of the
performance that can be shown around the world.
1. WORK THROUGH TRAUMA – ALLEVIATE DEPRESSION Once refugees' physical needs have been seen to - food,
water,
security, shelter, their main problems are often
boredom, depression and the psychological legacy of the trauma they
have faced. By holding drama groups and work-shopping the play with
refugees, we aim to help the Syrian émigrés work out some of the emotional
trauma they have suffered through the parallels and similarity of their stories
as they weave them into the unique play text they will create. We would also
hope that the six weeks spent working on the play alongside therapists
would help alleviate depression and give people a focus for their lives,
empowering their future.
2. LEGACY – THE PLAY
The theatrical performance of The Trojan Women will be the finale of the drama
workshops on location. The performances of the play in a refugee camp will be
the finale of the project, which can continue after the work on location and
which we aim to go on tour. We plan to show the documentary and a
recording of the performance in refugee camps not just in Jordan but also
internationally, as well as at international film festivals and gala
screenings.
3. PROVIDE EMPLOYMENT
When refugees lose their homes, they also lose their jobs. Our aim is to
provide paid employment wherever possible, not just for the lead actors,
the rest of the cast, extras, and the crew, but also the catering and set-
building –for example building a model of the Trojan Horse.
WHO: Yasmin Fedaa is
an award-winning documentary film maker. She is also the co-founder and
programme director of the Reel Film Festivals.
Alongside the theatrical production will be a film production of the play
involving some of the same cast, as well as professional Syrian, British and
Palestinian actors. It will be directed by Refuge Productions’ William Stirling
and Charlotte Eagar, (writers and producers of the award-winning
‘Scooterman’ - Best of the Fest in Palm Springs 2010). The multi award-winning
Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir will be consultant director on the
project.
Producers: After reading Classics at Oxford, Georgina Paget began her career in
film assisting the award-winning director Joanna Hogg. She has worked
across distribution, agency and production, and has produced several short
films, this year producing her first feature film 'The Show'. Georgina Paget,
William Stirling and Charlotte Eagar are all classicists, and fell in love
with The Trojan Women while studying at university.
Itab Azzam is a Syrian filmmaker with a background in fiction and documentary
projects. In 2012 she made two short films, ‘Live in Homs’ and ‘An Artist
in Exile’. Her extensive work for television includes the BBC’s ‘Syrian
School’, ‘East West’, a series for TRT, SBS and France 5 and ‘Bizarre
Foods: Syria’ for the Travel Channel. She is also UK co-ordinator for the
Syrian charity Matar.
Co producers: The award winning Palestinian production company Philistine
Films. This looks set to be the first ever official
UK-Palestinian co-production.