The goal of the Antigone of Syria drama workshop that was the foundation for We Are Not Princesses was to run an open workshop where Syrian women refugees have a safe place to express their bodies and their minds. Their hard work culminated in three performances at Al Madina Theatre, Beirut in December 2014.

The women who we welcomed on to the project engaged with one another in many ways, including by recounting their personal stories from Syria. We then worked together to blend some of these stories into the ancient Greek text. The end result was a 21st century Syrian adaptation of Sophocles’ tragic tale.

Click to view the Project Objectives >>

 

THE TEAM

Find out about the team behind the Antigone of Syria; their mission, their past experience, their motivations behind joining the project, alongside links to personal content.

Meet the Team →

THe Actresses

Read moving interviews with some of these courageous women as they tell us about their new lives, what they miss about home, and their expectations of the project.

Meet the Actresses →

THE NURSERY

With rehearsals underway we look after our actresses' children, and let them sweep us away in the magical world of their imaginations.

Visit the Nursery →

Photography WorkSHOP

The women have been given cameras to do self-portraits, as well as to record aspects of their personal lives that are meaningful to them.

View the Gallery →


In truth the ‘Theatre of the Oppressed’ has no end, because everything which happens in it must extend into life… The ‘Theatre of the Oppressed’ is located precisely on the frontier between fiction and reality - and this border must be crossed. If the show starts in fiction, its objective is to become integrated into reality, into life.
— Augusto Boal