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Women break their silence at Lebanon's monodrama festival

The Lebanon International Women Monodrama Festival, which opens on International Women's Day, provides a platform for female voices to be heard without interruption or suppression.
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TYRE, Lebanon — “If a woman were sitting with you and said the things we say on stage, you might get into an argument with her, tell her why she is wrong,” Jana Ismail, a member of the Tiro Association for Arts, told Al-Monitor. “But once on the stage, alone and directly in front of the audience, she is freer to express herself, her views.” Herein lies the power of monodrama, an art form in which a single actor delivers an extended monologue or a dance piece.

Tiro, along with the Lebanese National Theater and others, is a co-sponsor of the Lebanon International Theater Festival of Women Monodrama, which will bring together seven female artists, including from as far away as Mexico, to address issues of motherhood, displacement, and resilience in the face of conflict. The festival, premiering at the Istanbouli Theatre in Tyre on March 8, International Women's Day, runs through March 12.

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