Create, collaborate & catalyse change
through theatre and play

Participatory theatre and play can transform an individual’s sense of agency. They gain the power to shape their own narrative and expand what is possible, individually but also through collective action. Working in Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine, Seenaryo uses theatre and play to support people to heal, lead and learn. We co-create performances with under-served communities, train future leaders and transform classrooms through play.

Reaching 155,000 children, youth and women since 2015, Seenaryo won the Arts, Culture & Heritage prize at the 2023 UK Charity Awards, received a 2023 Innovation Award from TheirWorld and was one of Expo 2020 Dubai’s 120 Global Innovators.

  •

    Our documentary TILKA

    TILKA is an intimate portrait of five women in Lebanon creating a collective piece of theatre with Seenaryo. Keep up-to-date with latest announcements and upcoming screenings here.

  •

    Playkit trainings in Palestine

    In August, we ran our first ever Playkit trainings in Palestine. Teachers from across the West Bank travelled to Ramallah, to learn to transform their classrooms through play.

  •

    Women Leading Theatre for Change

    We’ve published a guide that serves as a roadmap for practitioners seeking to use theatre to equip women with the skills to become leaders and peacebuilders in their communities.

  • k 155

    people to date
  • k 85

    children reached through the Seenaryo Playkit
  • 3442

    teachers trained to use play in the classroom
  • 224

    original theatre productions created to date

VALUES

  • Meaningful participation

    at all levels including the way in which we run workshops, work with partners and train teachers – allowing all voices to be heard

  • Evidence-based approaches

    that use science and research to inform our programme content, rollout and monitoring and evaluation strategy

  • Deep rootedness in local contexts & partnerships

    working with and for communities for the long term

  • Agility & innovation

    in our use of technology, our approach to teaching and learning, and our responses to the changing needs of participants

  • Accessibility & inclusivity

    in terms of creating spaces and resources that actively engage and amplify traditionally excluded groups

  • Effective women's participation

    at all levels, including organisational structure as well as programme design and delivery

  • The intrinsic value of artistic excellence

    beyond its use as a tool for social impact

  • MISSION

    By breaking apart the typical hierarchies of theatre and classrooms, Seenaryo creates playful spaces for the meaningful participation of under-served communities in Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine.

  • AIMS

    • Facilitate skills development by supporting individuals to build social skills, life skills, critical thinking and wellbeing
    • Challenge mistrust and polarisation by bringing conflict-affected communities in dialogue with each other
    • Create wider and alternative employment pathways and professional capacity within classrooms and communities
    • Transform teaching and learning to become child-centred, engaging and inclusive
    • Advocate globally for play-based learning and participatory theatre in the Arab region

WHERE
WE WORK

Lebanon

Jordan

  • Lebanon and Jordan are among the countries hosting the most refugees per capita worldwide: 1 in 4 people in Lebanon, and 1 in 12 in Jordan. Half of these refugees are children according to UNHCR.

  • Moreover, these countries’ native populations are increasingly vulnerable due to the recession in the wake of Covid-19, donor fatigue around the Syrian crisis and an unprecedented economic crisis in Lebanon (one of the world’s worst since the 1850s according to the World Bank).

  • Lebanon has seen two successive governments collapse since anti-government protests began in October 2019, and the Beirut explosion in August destroyed much of the country’s capital.

  • This economic and political fragility damages already frail education systems in both countries, from NGO emergency education to public schools to private schools.

WHO WE
WORK WITH

  • Children

    Children from vulnerable communities in Lebanon and Jordan suffer from high levels of toxic stress, which ‘disrupts the architecture of the developing brain’ (US National Scientific Council on the Developing Child). 59% of school-aged refugees in Lebanon and nearly a third of all children in Jordan are not in school.

  • Youth

    The MENA region has the world’s highest youth unemployment rate; and Lebanon and Jordan face unprecedented brain drain. Youth lack access to quality employment or training opportunities. Many reach adulthood without having the opportunity to develop social and emotional skills and critical thinking, let alone professional capacities.

  • Women

    According to the Gender Gap Index 2020, Lebanon and Jordan are respectively 145th and 138th of 153 countries. The labour force participation rate for women is 26% in Lebanon and only 15% in Jordan. They are also affected by social and political marginalisation and an increase in sexual and gender-based violence.

  • Teachers

    The Lebanese and Jordanian Ministries of Education find they have an ‘unskilled teaching force’ (Jordan Response Plan), blaming out-dated pedagogy, ‘not as learner-centred as industry standards require, lacking a life-skills base’ (Lebanon Crisis Response Plan).

WHAT WE DO

  • We make theatre

    Seenaryo co-creates collaborative, powerful and imaginative theatre in partnership with organisations deeply rooted in the communities they serve. The original plays put participants at the heart of the creative process, giving them a space to collectively share and explore their stories and advocate for their rights.

    Learn more

  • We train future leaders

    Seenaryo trains youth and women to become creative leaders in their communities. We are currently doing this through our Theatre Leadership Training and Scenechangers programme. Through our trainings we aim to create wider and alternative employment pathways, equipping young people with vital professional skills.

    Learn more

  • We bring play to classrooms

    Through the Seenaryo Playkit, we transform classrooms to become participatory and child-centred. The Playkit is a mobile app and training for early years teachers, which gives them the skills to teach their curriculum through theatre, games, songs and stories.

    Learn more

  • Seenaryo
    in 2023

  • TILKA trailer

  • The creative journey
    of a Seenaryo play

     

COMMITMENT TO THE
UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

We aim for Seenaryo’s goals to align with sector-wide and international goals for sustainable development (SDGs). Seenaryo’s programmes particularly focus on the below SDGs set by the United Nations.

  • Quality education

    Substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship

  • Gender equality

    Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life

  • Decent work & economic growth

    Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation

  • Reduced inequalities

    Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status

  • Peace, justice and strong institutions

    Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels

THEATRE REFLECTS LIFE

The participatory approach to theatre-making that Seenaryo has developed over five years puts participants at the heart of the process, giving them the responsibility and agency to create and write the play that they will perform.

Whether their plays are about real life or volcanoes and dinosaurs, the participants’ own stories are always present. The opportunity to mask their experiences in fairytale and fiction allow participants to express something they otherwise felt unable to express, and confront their feelings safely.

  • In the Middle

    In this Seenaryo Studio show: a group of women decide to quit their troubles and fly to the moon. Ending up lost in space, they have to decide whether to stay where they are, return to Earth, or push on to the Moon. Theatre reflects life: in the face of hyperinflation, the economic collapse, and Covid-19 the majority of people living in Lebanon are looking for a way out.

  • The Village of Mujadara

    In this Seenaryo Cycle show: the story, devised by Palestinian children, is about two wizards’ struggle for acceptance in a corrupt and polluted village. The parallels to the life of a Palestinian in Lebanon are clear.

  • Together, We Beat the Monster

    In this Seenaryo Showbuild: monsters destroy all the homes in a city, so the citizens band together to rebuild. The story here is an unmistakable metaphor for the situation following the Beirut explosion.

MEET FARAH

“Seenaryo makes you feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel… and it’s you!”

FARAH

Farah started as a participant with Seenaryo in 2015. She was 13 years old, playing the role of a genie in Careful What You Wish For. Over the last five years she has created and performed six shows with us including two Studio productions which toured nationally. In recent years she has also been training as a facilitator with Seenaryo and has now co-led a Cycle project and assistant directed a Seenaryo Studio production. Handing over the baton to the communities we work with has been Seenaryo’s ambition since inception, and it’s exciting to see this happen with Farah, who grew up in Shatila refugee camp.

“My leadership skills have been really enhanced by this project. I’ve become more confident, and more focused on what I want to do in life,” says Farah.