Sudanese Displaced People Portray Their Pain on Stage

Twenty displaced men and women from the Al-Karama 3 and Al-Karama 10 camps in Damazin, Blue Nile Region, have written five theatrical scripts after participating in a five-day training supported by the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Trainer Ahmed Mustafa told Mashaweer that the training did not involve providing participants with ready-made scripts to memorize. Instead, it began with improvisation and character development before working with them on the information required for the theatrical messages to ensure their accuracy.

He added that the participants were divided into five groups, chose their roles, and wrote the scripts in the dialect spoken by residents of the camps.

The topics addressed included cholera transmission and prevention methods, birth registration and the documents required for displaced people, protection of women and girls, combating female genital mutilation, as well as exploitation and ways of reporting it.

Mustafa explained that choosing interactive theatre allows audiences to participate in the performance, with spectators able to stop an actor, go up on stage, and try out a different ending to a scene.

He noted that “a message that comes from within the camp reaches residents more quickly than messages coming from outside.”

He said the theatrical performances will begin soon at the Al-Karama 3 and Al-Karama 10 camps in Damazin.