Jarret Ghaz Spéciale

SPECTACLE – THEATRE

JARRET GHAZ SPÉCIALE

Cynthya Karam, Joseph Zeytouni, Karim Chebli, Sara Abdo

Lebanon / Creation 2025

Exploring shared Lebanese-Syrian trauma under the Ba’ath regime, promoting reconciliation and challenging racism through personal and historical memory.

Tuesday 10 – Sunday 29 June 2025, 8:30 pm

Théâtre Le Monnot

Book your free & paid tickets

Doors close at 8:15 pm.

The reserved free tickets are required at the door for the free performances on 10, 11 and 12 June 2025.

The play continues until Sunday 29 June 2025 with paid ticketing.

تستعرض هذه الرّحلة المسرحيّة أثر الصّدمة الجماعيّة ومسار التّعافي في سياق الإضطرابات السّياسيّة في لبنان وسوريا. يمزج العمل بين الضّحك والدّموع، الألم والأمل، ليقدّم صورة إنسانيّة عن القوّة والصّبر مع تقاطع الماضي والحاضر. أُنجز هذا العمل بدعم من الإتّحاد الأوروبي في لبنان.

In 2024, a chance encounter occurs between a Lebanese mother, who is haunted by the disappearance of her only child at the hands of the Syrian regime in the late 1980s, and a Syrian refugee, who is fleeing his war-torn homeland. This encounter ignites a storm of buried grief and deep-seated prejudice.

When the mother projects her unresolved trauma onto the refugee and blames him for the pain she endured decades ago, tensions escalate, exposing the raw wounds of history.

As their stories unfold, a striking revelation emerges: They are not enemies, but rather, they are both survivors of the same cruelty. Both have lost loved ones to forces beyond their control. What begins as a confrontation of resentment transforms into a journey of reckoning, where anger gives way to understanding, and hatred dissolves into shared sorrow.

At its core, the play highlights the shared suffering endured by the Lebanese and Syrian people under the Ba’ath regime, which subjected citizens of both nations to decades of torture, imprisonment, and atrocities.

Specifically, Jarret Ghaz Spéciale was written to educate younger generations on the decades of systematic torture that largely remain outside their lived experience.

Focusing on the intertwined histories of Lebanon’s civil war and Syria’s more recent conflicts, the play explores shared suffering and reconciliation. Through the emotional journeys of the two main characters, the narrative unfolds as a testament to collective trauma and healing.

The play also examines racism, illustrating how both Lebanese and Syrians have endured similar pain. As the play progresses, the narrative evolves from one of hatred and division to one of understanding and acceptance.

Grounded in the themes of memory and reconciliation, Jarret Ghaz Spéciale encourages its audience to reconsider their perceptions of identity, conflict, and forgiveness during a time of significant political upheaval.

Description Title

Since childhood, I have been deeply interested in the case of Lebanese detainees in Syrian prisons. I vividly remember my parents’ fear during the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, especially in 2004 when I, a nine-year-old, put a picture of the late martyr Pierre Gemayel on our balcony. Shaken, my parents explained that my uncle and grandfather had once been detained by the Syrian regime and were just a few phone calls away from being deported to the Aanjar detention site.

This experience shaped my lifelong commitment to fighting oppression and defending Lebanon’s sovereignty against any force seeking to suppress freedom of expression.

—Karim Chebli, writer and director

Written & Directed by Karim Chebli, Sara Abdo

Actors Cynthya Karam, Joseph Zaitouny

Production End Scene Production

Wardrobe Design Hala Kastoun

Set Design Naja Rechmani

Lighting Design Hagop Derghougassian

Sound Design Sara Abdo

With the support of the European Union in Lebanon.

Performance in Arabic with English subtitles.

🕓 1h05

No break