amandawilkin:

We performed a couple days ago in Za'atari Refugee Camp in Jordan, to a Syrian audience. I had no idea what to expect, and worried right before whether we would even have an audience - it’s a complicated journey without cars to get around as the camp holds around 80,000 people. We waited, and held the beginning for a while, and then people started to gather. Lots of kids too which was great. During the show there was a huge sandstorm, and we had to pause as some people left to go check on their families. The sky went red. The room became very dusty, and our stage managers tried to cover the windows with material. Then we restarted and carried on till the end.

Afterwards we met and talked with some of the audience who were actors, hearing about their own productions of King Lear and Hamlet at Za'atari. One young man said ‘We hope one day to welcome you into Syria’. I really hope that will happen, I hope for a peaceful Syria. But until that day I hope we can all welcome refugees into our countries and stand up for their human rights.