Two theatre groups led by refugees in Malaysia will present ‘Impossible Love’, a double billed performance of two plays written, directed, and acted by refugee artists in Malaysia. The plays, which explore the impact of war on love and family, are the creative works of TheatreFugee and Parastoo Theatre and will be performed on 1-3 February 2018 at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre.

Romeo and Juliet 2000+ by TheatreFugee, directed by Omar Alkhammash, a 19-year old artist from Syria, and Saleh Sepas, a professional theatre director from Kabul, is a retelling of the William Shakespeare play, only this time set in Colombo during the Sri Lankan civil war, with the feuding Montagues and Capulets reimagined as Sinhala and Tamil Tiger families. The actors comprise of refugees from different parts of the world, including Syria, Libya, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Screaming in Silence is an original play written and directed by Saleh Sepas, founder of the Afghan refugee Parastoo Theatre. Set in Afghanistan, the play tells the tragic story of Nazanin, a 12-year old girl forced into marriage with a much older man when her father loses to him at gambling. Eventually, Nazanin runs away, only to find that even the institutions responsible for enforcing the law fail to protect her rights.

The plays address the realities of societies both hardened and eroded by conflict. In Romeo and Juliet 2000+, those who try to break away from cycles of hostilities of war and choose the path of love and peacemaking must confront their own families and face exile or death. In Screaming in Silence, families entrenched in the misery of war, poverty, parochialism of rural Afghanistan condone the forced marriage of a young girl, with little regard for the multiple forms of violence and vulnerability that she becomes exposed and subjected to as a result.

 Such situations are all too real for girls in many parts of the world. According to the United Nations, rates of child marriage increase in times of crisis, when marriage can seem to offer ‘protection’, ‘honour’ and security, even while it often severely compromises girls’ development, interrupting their education, leading to early pregnancy, social isolation and domestic violence.

The performance is a collaborative artistic effort between TheatreFugee and Parastoo Theatre, with management and production support from humanitarian organisation Geutanyoe Foundation. The effort was funded through a seed grant from UNHCR Malaysia to TheatreFugee as well as public donations for Parastoo Theatre channeled through Geutanyoe Foundation.

The plays will be performed on 1-3 February 2018 at the Theatre at Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC). Each performance will be preceded by remarks by a public figure on child protection, girls education and refugee rights, including Richard Towle, Country Representative of UNHCR Malaysia, Dr. Hartini Zainuddin, Founder of Yayasan Chow Kit, Mahi Ramakrishnan, award-winning film director, and Heidy Quah, Founder of Refuge for the Refugees and Winner of the 2017 Queen Elizabeth Young Leaders Award.

Proceeds from the performances will go towards programmes to support Rohingya women and girls’ education by Geutanyoe Malaysia as well as a collaborative arts programme between refugee and Malaysian youth, led by TheatreFugee. Individuals, organisations, and companies who wish to sponsor tickets for Malaysian underprivileged youth and refugee youth to attend the plays of any night may contact the Geutanyoe Foundation directly.

Read the article here

Creative layout: Ahmad Semar @jonkosmon

Idea: Ahmad Semar, Lilianne Fan @tigerlilianne

Photo: Geutanyoë Malaysia

@2018 Geutanyoë Malaysia

geutanyoe.org

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Geutanyoë Malaysia is part of the Geutanyoë Foundation, a regional humanitarian and community empowerment organisation headquartered in Aceh, Indonesia.
Geutanyoë is the Acehnese word for ‘us’, ‘ours’ and ‘we’, embodying our principles of humanity, impartiality, dignity, solidarity and inclusiveness. 

Geutanyoë’s mandate is to work with the most vulnerable communities in ASEAN, including refugees, orphans, children with special needs and disaster-affected communities.

In Malaysia, our current work focuses on increasing access to health and education for refugees, youth empowerment, public education and fostering understanding and harmony between refugees and Malaysians.

Increasing Access to Health and Education for Refugees in Malaysia
Malaysia is the ASEAN country that hosts the highest number of refugees and asylum seekers. While Malaysia is not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, the Malaysian government allows UNHCR to operate and assist refugees and has on an ad-hoc basis provided temporary protection to specific groups of refugees since the 1970s. 

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