PLACE: Jordan, Irbid
TIME: 2014-2015
PARTNERS: Irbid Art Theatre Troupe (JO)
PARTICIPANTS: 23
AUDIENCE: 2,828
O KELMETEEN tells a tale of joy, laughter, sorrow, and loss; about discrimination and inequality. ‘O Kelmeteen’ in Arabic means ‘and two words’, an idiom that refers to a heartfelt message that needs to be said out loud. So like in the idiom, the play ‘O Kelmeteen’ is based on the heartfelt messages and personal stories of 23 Syrian and Jordanian teenagers from the age 15-20 years from. This group of enthusiastic young men and women from Syria and Jordan were all citizens of the city of Irbid who gathered to share their different stories about inequality and discrimination to a larger audience.
O KELMETEEN was part of a process to prevent and counter stereotypes and enhance a greater cohesion within the local community of Irbid. Articulating these personal stories about inequality eventually led to establishing a platform for debate among the participants and a common and more nuanced understanding of being (un)equal and social justice. This was seen through the extensive friendship that was established between the participants, although some of them did not have much interaction with Jordanians or vice versa Syrians in the beginning of the workshop.
Prior to the premiere of the play, the participants took part in a six-week long workshop focusing on the personal stories and experiences of these young people about different forms of inequality. The workshop aimed to apply theatre tools to articulate and present these issues on stage, executed entirely by the participants themselves.
PLACE: Jordan, Irbid
TIME: 2014-2015
PARTNERS: Irbid Art Theatre Troupe (JO)
PARTICIPANTS: 23
AUDIENCE: 2,828
STAGE DIRECTORS: Wael Qadour & Peter Dupont Weiss
WORKSHOP TRAINERS: Mohannad Mohtauseb, Fares Al Emam & Waleed Al Jezawi
PROJECT MANAGERS: Safi Adnan Sakran & Naghmeh Mahmoudi Kashani
TRANSLATOR: Abdallah AbuRub
Watch an interview with English subtitles with our participants from the performance AND TWO WORDS from Irbid about their experience.