Our impact

10 years of Seenaryo

 

Over the past ten years, our work has grown in ways we never imagined – from our first project with refugees in Lebanon to reaching under-served communities across the region. What began in community spaces has moved into classrooms, onto stages and toured to international festivals.

To mark 10 years of Seenaryo, we’ve published a 10 year history as well as a new series delving into 10 participants’ journeys with Seenaryo.

Seenaryo’s 10 year history
10 stories for 10 years

  • k 205

    people to date
  • k 99

    children reached through the Seenaryo Playkit
  • 6072

    teachers trained to use play in the classroom
  • 285

    original theatre productions created to date

Meet our theatre participants

Seenaryo co-creates collaborative, powerful and imaginative theatre in partnership with organisations deeply rooted in the communities they serve. We also train and fund our adult participants to become theatre facilitators themselves.

  • Jad
    LEBANON

    “This project was beautiful because everything came from us. In the play, I expressed real struggles: access to healthcare, retirement, the right to work – as a gay person, it’s incredibly difficult to find a job – and I now speak about these issues wherever I go.”

  • Reema
    LEBANON

    “Where I live, we’ve been affected by war, especially the clashes between Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen a few years ago. I rarely used to interact with my community, but I now feel more open to people around me. I never realised I was so joyous, I feel like I’m truly living again.”

  • Shouq
    JORDAN

    “I couldn’t afford to continue my education, as it costs a lot for refugees. But through this project I started to believe things don’t have to stop here, there are alternative paths. I used to be scared to speak up, but I’ve overcome that.”

Seenaryo in 2025

 

“Theatre is like another language, it can bring out the things that are inside of us that we can’t say directly.” – 2025 THEATRE PARTICIPANT

Last year, we reached 28,527 people through our theatre and play programmes, and worked across six countries; Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine Syria, Egypt and the UK. Learn about how we responded to the aftermath of the 2024 war in Lebanon, our first project in Gaza and the launch of our most ambitious theatre project to date.

Seenaryo’s 2025 Impact Report

  • Theatre for Her Future

  • 10 Years of Seenaryo | Lora Hijazi

Impact of the Playkit

The Seenaryo Playkit is a mobile phone app and training for teachers of 3 – 8 year olds, supporting them to deliver their curriculum through music, story and play. The app contains how-to videos, music tracks and flashcards, and is usually accompanied by a 3-day training.

  • RAZAN
    Teacher in Jordan

    “I’ve moved to a new school and am now using the Playkit. Even though I have 38 children in my class, I no longer face many challenges or issues. The behaviour and classroom management techniques help me greatly in the classroom.”

  • GHAYTH
    Child in Lebanon

    “Miss Nimri has become so much better with us since the Seenaryo training. Maths used to be really hard and we couldn’t focus in her class, it wasn’t fun at all. Now things are so different – she teaches us with songs and games. Everyone is interacting and we’re focussing and loving maths so much more than before.”

  • SOHA
    Headteacher in Lebanon

    “[The Playkit training] really adds value to the rigid curriculum we have to follow. We work with children who have mental health issues and we’re now seeing them smiling, playing and interacting with others, which makes us feel so happy. We can see they are expressing their needs and feelings.”

“The session felt just like being at home”

FARHAN

Farhan is Lebanese and has grown up in Dar Al Aytam, an orphanage in Beirut. He participated in the show An Orphanage of Dreams, which was a Seenaryo Cycle co-created with children from Dar Al Aytam.

Seenaryo has been creating theatre with children in care since 2015. There is no state system of foster care in Lebanon, with 40,000 children living in 300 privately run children’s homes.

After the performance, Farhan said: “Being in the play was seriously cool! Last week, the session felt just like being at home. Usually I hate leaving home, but this time I had so much fun that I didn’t even mind being away. I often feel lonely at the orphanage, but with my friends around during the play I didn’t feel like that. It was like a big family.”