I remember the first rehearsals a few months ago in Hamra. The volunteer actors and actresses would hang out in cliques based on their area of residence during lunch and break times. The areas include Tarik Jdideh, Khandak El Ghamiq, Basta, Madine Riyadiyeh, Dahieh, Burj Abou Haidar, Sabra and other neighborhoods.

Who?

MARCH is a Lebanese NGO founded in 2011. MARCH is one of the fiercest defenders and fighters for freedom of speech and expression in Lebanon. MARCH’s scope of work has branched out to include conflict resolution, peace building and countering violent extremism all over Lebanon.

MARCH’s conflict resolution work began in Tripoli’s Beb El Tebbeneh and Jabal Mohsen in 2014. Today, several plays and performing arts initiatives have been launched that include youth that participated or were directly affected by the years of clashes and violence in the area.

“Kahwetna” is MARCH’s cultural cafe right on the former frontline of Syria Street. It employs 6 former fighters full-time, and several more part-time. It also acts as a hub for MARCH’s many development and peace building projects in the city, such as Beb El Dahab, and the upcoming Souk Beb El Dahab festival.

Hona Beirut is MARCH’s plan to implement the successful projects executed in Tripoli, in the capital’s most marginalized communities.

Why?

Even though the sectarian tensions did not culminate into dozens of rounds of armed clashes like in Tripoli, the scars of the Lebanese Civil War are still fresh in Beirut. These wounds have been exacerbated by the rise in sectarian sentiment, especially between Sunni and Shiite residents of Beirut’s most neglected neighborhoods.

That’s why MARCH felt it was time to start its project in Beirut, with “Hona Beirut” as a start to a long-term plan for Beirut, similar to that of Tripoli’s, but tailor-made for Beirut.

How?

MARCH partnered up with renowned director and playwright, Yehia Jaber and assistant director Nehme Nehme, and over a gruelling four months, turned volunteers who mistrusted each other, into hilarious stage actors fit for a series of bold performances, and more importantly, very close friends.

The stereotypes melted away, and young men and women from Tarik Jdideh and Khandak El Ghamiq, who have been taught to avoid each other like the plague, became an amazing team that have made us at MARCH, as well as everyone who came to the performances so far, laugh their socks off while they shake their heads when they get the references being satirized and mocked on stage.

The Play

It’s a dark comedy play, with reference after reference the audience laughed out loud to time after time. Seeing several minutes of standing ovations was quite a surreal feeling for us, so I can’t even begin to imagine what our volunteer actors and actresses must have been feeling.

There are so many “jokes” and stereotypes in Lebanon that never get shared in public. Under Yehia Jaber’s direction, these extreme misconceptions based on sectarian lines were addressed, head-on with a heavy-handed approach that served as comedic relief for the dark circumstances many parts of Lebanon are in. But, it was also a sophisticated critique on the socioeconomic situation the young actors and actresses grew up in.

“Eat a Druze’s, but sleep at a Christian’s” “Sunnis are all terrorists” “Shiites are all ‘shalamastiyyeh’” “Roum are the Muslims of Christians” “Maronites are a bad species” and many, many, many other references we’ve all heard at least once or twice in our lifetimes were addressed, in a hilarious format that anyone could relate to. What was refreshing, is the directness and bluntness of the jokes and bits, for something that is usually reserved for the privacy of our living rooms and dining tables.

What’s Next?

I don’t want to reveal too much too early, but what I can say is that we will most probably have more performances soon, across different parts of Beirut and the country. MARCH hopes to turn this bold, brave first step into something more permanent and sustainable, and something that can generate income for young men and women in Beirut like our volunteers while they act as catalysts for positive change in their communities, despite many of the social, economic and political situation circumstances remain unchanged.

If there’s one thing you should take away from Hona Beirut, it’s how much potential young Lebanese people have if just given the chance. Given the opportunity and dedication, the hidden talent, passion and wit can easily come out and create something beautiful that helps pull entire communities out of the static hopelessness many of us fall prey to.

Follow MARCH Lebanon to stay up to date with everything related to Hona Beirut and all the other projects we are doing in Beirut, Tripoli, Akkar and soon in Saida.