Being a refugee and having gone through the devastation of having to flee his nation and begin from scratch in a brand new land has not robbed Afghan playwright/theatre director Saleh Sepas of his zest for all times, his kindness for others, or his hope for the long run.
After two lengthy years of prep (interspersed with cease/begins as a result of pandemic), Saleh’s new play And Then Came Spring – a collaboration with Instant Cafe Theatre – is about to be staged from July 22-24 on the Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC) in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
“This play is about those among us who are oppressed and don’t have a voice. Those who are in isolation, without any rights. It is a story about the people that we don’t really take any notice of; a seemingly unimportant few who have no supporters around them, who are trying their best and are really frightened about the challenges they face every day,” he says, full of conviction.
It will not be the primary time Saleh is doing one thing like this. With Parastoo Theatre, which he based in 2017 right here in Kuala Lumpur, he has written and directed a number of performs together with A Bitter Taste Of History, In Search Of Identity and Screaming In Silence.
Last month, along with Iranian documentary filmmaker Amin Kamrani, Parastoo Theatre introduced Converging Paths at PJPAC.
Saleh, 39, fled to Malaysia half a decade in the past along with his household. After an preliminary interval of melancholy, frustration and isolation, he slowly however absolutely began turning issues round, not only for himself, however for his household and the neighborhood round him – refugee and non-refugee alike.
Saleh, who strongly believes that theatre is a kind of remedy, started utilizing theatre as an outlet to assist the refugees deal with their each day struggles.
“Remember, these refugees were not actors then. When we first started, many of them had mental and emotional issues, and there was a sense of hopelessness enveloping us all,” explains Saleh.
Parastoo Theatre firm has used Five Arts Centre new area at GMBB in Kuala Lumpur as a rehearsal area. Photo: The Star/Faihan Ghani
“But theatre was like a medicine. When they began acting on stage, they started to have feelings of hope again. There was now an audience, and a platform to say something what’s more is that they found that people were actually listening, and wanted to know more about their situation.
“With Parastoo Theatre, we were creating opportunities for them to come out of isolation, to develop their talents, to be engaged in activities that were allowing them to be seen and heard,” he provides.
“There was real power at work here.”
Life of a refugee
In 2016 as a result of of battle and persecution again residence, Saleh, collectively along with his spouse Masooma and their three kids, left Afghanistan and sought refuge right here in Malaysia. They had been, and proceed to be, amongst hundreds of others who’ve carried out the identical.
Malaysia hosts some 182,960 refugees and asylum-seekers and a pair of,661 of them are from Afghanistan, in response to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
“I had lost everything. My family was in a very bad situation,” he shares. “I didn’t have money, I didn’t have a job, we didn’t have a place to live in, my children were sick, I didn’t know anyone here things were really horrible.”
Though he was consumed by a deep unhappiness for leaving his nation, there got here a degree when Saleh determined he needed to do one thing to assist himself and his household right here.
“I could not wait for an NGO or someone else to come along. If you want to change your life, I thought, then you must start with yourself. And so I did just that.”
Saleh was born and grew up in Afghanistan; he studied Fine Arts at Kabul University and had been writing and directing with numerous media organisations, together with BBC Radio, for 10 years, earlier than arriving on Malaysian shores.
“I advocated and supported the Afghan community, especially women and girls, because they don’t have any opportunities for education, are not allowed to drive and have many other rights curtailed. In Afghanistan more than 90% of women are oppressed.”
The 13-year-old Madina Hossaini, who one of the celebrities of the upcoming present, in an intense scene throughout a rehearsal at Five Arts Centre in KL. Photo: The Star/Faihan Ghani
In the Malaysian capital, Salleh had began Parastoo Theatre (“Parastoo” means “Swallow” in Persian, the attractive chook whose true house is the sky, and can also be usually used as a pet identify for younger ladies), through which he hoped to assist kids and ladies affected by battle to discover a voice.
The director makes use of “Theatre of the Oppressed”, a strategy created by the Brazilian dramatist Augusto Boal, primarily based on the concept that theatre ought to encourage revolutionary change in society.
“In the beginning it was very difficult. None of the refugees believed in the arts. They told me it was a waste of time. They would rather play games on their mobile phones than spend any time rehearsing. But when they came and saw the plays, they loved them.”
Saleh credit his US coach/cultural activist Kayhan Irani and Lilianne Fan of regional humanitarian organisation Geutanyoë Foundation for supporting his preliminary foray into theatre right here. He had hoped then, as he does now, that Parastoo Theatre would be capable of attain out to the broader refugee neighborhood to assist them overcome their numerous challenges. Saleh additionally hopes that his performs will “open the eyes and minds” of audiences to what the refugees should endure.
His spouse, the bright-eyed Masooma, 30, as soon as an achorwoman for media again in Afghanistan, takes on two roles in Saleh’s upcoming play and says that being half of Parastoo Theatre has made a world of distinction for her.
“Before, I went through a lot of hard times. But theatre helped me a lot. First, it made me busy. Then I could see see a lot of people who are kind and good. I found a lot of friends. The situation totally changed for me before and after theatre,” she says.
Theatre for social change
This is the primary time on stage for 36-year-old Sayed Hassan. Once a fruit vendor in Iran, he by no means dreamed he would ever act in entrance of an viewers!
“It’s hard!” says Hassan, who performs the function of the physician in And Then Came Spring.
“But I now can understand better what women in Afghanistan go through. I had always heard about these things, but never really felt it the way i am feeling it now in the play.”
Saleh’s new play And Then Came Spring, which he has co-written with much-loved native theatre character Jo Kukathas, is a sequel to 2018’s Screaming In Silence.
Once a fruit vendor in Iran, Sayed Hassan (center) is now able to tackle the theatre stage. Photo: Amin Kamrani
“That show was about women’s rights and child marriage, and because Malaysia is not spared of this phenomenon, I feel many people will be interested. (According to Unicef, between 2007 and 2017, approximately 15,000 cases of child marriage were recorded in Malaysia, occurring in all communities across the country.) This play is more fleshed out, has a larger cast, and digs deeper into many subjects such as gender, being a refugee, women’s rights and community challenges,” he says.
Saleh enjoys working with Jo and reminisces about how they first met.
“It was 2018, and Mahi (Ramakrishnan, a refugee rights activist from Beyond Borders), introduced us.
“We met and Jo listened to my ideas. She didn’t talk much then, but after that we met many times. I invited her for our show, she invited me for her show. In 2019 we had a performance called Blank in which she stitched together performances by two refugee actors and three Malaysian actors – it was the first performance that we worked together. It was very good,” says Saleh, grateful for the alternatives which have come his manner.
And Then Came Spring was additionally awarded the Boh Cameronian Grant for New Productions 2022.
When requested what he does in his free time, Saleh says very modestly, “I find food and non-food items to distribute to refugee families.”
Though he loves Malaysia, he says that he’s at all times on edge.
“For me, there are two sides to being here. The level of culture here is very good – people from all religions living together and respecting each other. My country needs this. People here have also been very kind to us, and I have many Malaysian friends, like Jo. We work together and learn from each other. I don’t feel alone as a refugee anymore.”
Saleh (left) and Jo, who’ve been theatre buddies since 2018, have labored collectively to make ‘And Then Came Spring’ a actuality regardless of the pandemic postponements. Photo: The Star/Faihan Ghani
On the flip aspect, he says, is the ever current information of his refugee standing.
“I am ‘homeless’ and my future is dark. I cannot stay here forever. And even now, when I walk on the streets outside, I am afraid because it is very difficult for a refugee to ever feel safe.”
But Saleh will not be one to dwell on the negatives for lengthy. In reality, within the close to future, plans are already afoot to open an arts centre for refugees in a mall in KL, and he’s been busy ironing out these particulars, making issues occur.
Saleh shares with enthusiasm: “There will be all sorts of classes here – photography, documentary making, music, theatre, film. Right now, there isn’t such a place for refugees. And there are so many of us who want to learn. So our classes will be open to all refugees from all communities.
“There will also be a library so they will be able to read, and present their ideas online. We want to connect refugees with other communities through books, through reading, knowledge and the arts. We want to give people hope for the future.”
More particulars here.
