On September 8, 2024 Will C. (Will Chalmus) and Playback in the Port presented a Zoom discussion called “Can Playback Theatre make a difference in times of civil unrest and war?” The event was part of a PITP series of sincere conversations about potentially divisive topics in our field.
The September presentation was attended by 40 playbackers around the world. Three Playback Theatre practitioners spoke with insight and passion about using Playback in their respective countries, Hong Kong, Ukraine, and Lebanon–and in exile–to nurture support, connection, and resilience. Attendees reflected in small groups before coming back together with the moderator and the panelists for a final discussion and closing.
Our world today is torn by grievous conflict and it shows no sign of easing. In the Zoom event there was a palpable hunger to hear more, connect more, understand more. It led me to invite the three panelists to share their opening statements in written form here on Playback Theatre Reflects, so those who were not there (and those who were) could have a chance to read these important, moving, and illuminating reports from fraught places that we hear about and care about so much.
Since the time of that presentation, Lebanon has been plunged into active war, with thousands of civilian casualties. Nour Wardani’s description based on past years is now tragically current.
(As usual on PTR, I have maintained each writer’s English language usage, including their choice to capitalize Playback or not.)
Michele Chung: The resilience to stay in the darkness
Michele is an independent Hong Kong artist in exile, human rights activist, and playbacker.
In today’s Hong Kong, just one slogan or social media post can get you arrested without bail for allegedly posing a threat to national security. So, speaking freely without the fear of handcuffs is a privilege—and I am grateful for this opportunity.
Like our lives, my sharing today has a time limit: five minutes. Short, but full of potential. Like a power bar or a power nap. It wasn’t until I sat down to contemplate these words that I realised this is what I’ve been searching for in Playback: a concise moment of precise listening and reenactment that connects those involved, activating something deep within them, something long-lasting that may not yet be visible. Invisible, but essential.
My life also changed in five minutes—during the nonstop firing of tear gas, with locked doors preventing us from escaping, on June 12, 2019. I vividly remember realising that we weren’t being dispersed; we were being attacked. And when I finally got away, just like many times afterward that year, I returned to the streets, knowing full well that the tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and chemical cannons would come again.
Five minutes on the streets with heavily armed riot police can feel like an eternity, though you don’t fully realise it until you’ve found shelter. I think that’s when I began losing my sense of time.
Then I had to leave Hong Kong. I experienced discrimination like never before. I left a Human Rights Master’s program because I spoke up about something that shouldn’t happen anywhere—let alone in a human rights course—and I didn’t feel heard or accepted. I lost my home, my friends, my purpose, and my confidence in being myself—everything Playback had given me.
I started experimenting with my own version of Playback, in the form of one-on-one performances. It was mainly for practical reasons: I was alone on a journey with no end in sight, no home base, no company, no partner, and no local knowledge of how to create something rooted in community. I didn’t call it Playback—goddess forbid—that might have caused unrest within the Playback community! (wink wink) But my project, “Move to Meet,” had its roots in Playback. It challenged me in ways many might not imagine: it forced me to speak with strangers.
At the same time, it offered a protective façade of performance—when I was in-role, I could do more than I could in reality. It provided me with tools from other people to cope. Most importantly, it gave me a momentary sense of belonging and acceptance that no longer existed in my life.
The importance of telling one’s story, combined with the importance of being heard, multiplies when that story is reenacted with respectful creativity. Together, this creates hope. Not hope as a light at the end of the tunnel, but the resilience to stay in the darkness as long as needed. Light is overrated. Positivity is overrated. “Making things better” is unrealistic. Changing the world is beyond impossible. To say, “I believe you can come out of the darkness,” can sometimes sound condescending. Instead, acknowledging that “it’s okay to stay where you are, seeing no way out,” and trusting one’s inner strength to live in the moment—this is what gives me hope. Hope to hang on. Hope to continue through the endless odyssey of darkness.
These are the qualities of Playback that draw me to this form. And working on “Move to Meet” during the Ukraine Fringe Festival last year has helped me keep going.
As a person in exile, I am constantly a foreigner. I am always an outsider. It is up to me to be included—something I’ve fought for others who are marginalised for the past quarter-century. For five minutes, whether as a teller or a performer, I find an anchor in humanity that only Playback seems able to offer. Through the embodiment of the “other,” I come closer to accepting myself as an “other.” In moments when I fully dedicate myself to this act of service, I forget my problems and honour a lived experience that reminds me I am not alone.
Resources
Here are just a few links. If you go to Hong Kong Free Press, search for Explainer and you can read more about what’s going on in Hong Kong. If you can, please support Hong Kong Free Press as they are the only liberal and independent English media left in Hong Kong with good quality of journalism. They face a lot of challenges and a regular donation would help us to have fact-based news reports about Hong Kong. Thanks!
A brief history of Hong Kong – the city’s turbulent road since the 1997 Handover
Explainer: Hong Kong’s national security crackdown – month 50
Lena Kalashnykova: Playback Theater in the Context of the War in Ukraine
Accredited Trainer of Playback Theater. Co-founder and Board Member of the Ukrainian Playback Theater School. Co-founder, Actress, and Leader of Playback Theater “Vakhtery”. Vice President, NUKC “Prosperis”.
The war in Ukraine, which began in 2014, has profoundly shaped the landscape of playback theater in the country. Playback theater, an improvisational form where individuals share personal stories that are enacted by others, has become a powerful tool for healing, adaptation, and integration for displaced people and refugees affected by the ongoing conflict.
Playback Theater’s Emergence as a Social Tool (2014–Present)
The escalation of conflict in 2014 led to a surge in displaced persons within Ukraine, particularly in the regions bordering the occupied territories. During this time, I was living and working in Kharkiv, a city that became a primary destination for internally displaced persons (IDPs). The first wave of displacement saw an influx of 2 to 3 million people, creating an urgent need for psychological and social support.
At the ART Center “Fragments,” we established a playback theater group called “Living Mirror.” For almost a year, we performed weekly near the front lines, bringing storytelling and therapeutic expression to those living in modular towns and temporary shelters such as schools, nursing homes, children’s camps, and religious institutions. In parallel, we founded a teenage playback studio that served both displaced and local youth. From this initiative, three teenage playback groups emerged, including the still-active “Vakhtery,” which has been operating for over eight years.
The work we did through playback theater made a significant impact on the integration and adaptation of displaced people. By allowing individuals to share their stories and have them enacted by empathetic peers, we facilitated emotional processing, mutual understanding, and community-building during a time of profound upheaval.
Responding to the Full-Scale Invasion in 2022
The full-scale Russian invasion on Ukraine in 2022 brought about a new wave of displacement, both internally and across borders. Today, there are approximately 7 million Ukrainian refugees worldwide and 8 million IDPs within the country. Playback theater practitioners were among those displaced, but rather than halting their work, they carried it with them to new cities and countries. Playback theaters aimed at supporting Ukrainian refugees have sprung up in places like Germany, Poland, and Lithuania and many others. These spaces offer displaced Ukrainians a chance to reconnect with their culture, speak their language, and find solidarity with others who have shared similar experiences.
In these new environments, playback theater serves as a platform where refugees make playback for other refugees, creating a community of support and understanding. This dynamic provides a sense of continuity and connection amid displacement, giving participants a way to process their trauma while building new networks of care in foreign lands.
Adapting Education and Performance to New Realities
The war has also forced us to rethink how we provide training and education in playback theater. Economic challenges have made it difficult for many to afford the cost of courses, so the Ukrainian Playback Theater School has organized grant-funded basic courses with free participation. Similarly, most of our performances are either donation-based or grant-funded, both within Ukraine and internationally.
Despite the disruptions caused by the conflict, we have continued to host our annual playback theater festival in Ukraine for the past eight years, even during the COVID-19 pandemic and full-scale invasion. In 2023, we extended the creation of a playback festival for playbackers and their friends and international colleagues in Poland, focusing on the experience of Ukrainian refugees in Europe. We hope to continue making this an annual event, with the goal of supporting and highlighting the work of Ukrainian playback practitioners abroad.
The Emotional and Psychological Complexities of War
One of the greatest challenges we face is navigating the polarization and trauma caused by the war. Ukrainians carry immense emotional burdens, and it is crucial that playback theater be a safe space for expression and healing. We have had to implement specific safeguards during performances and workshops. For instance, the mere presence of Russian or Belarusian participants can trigger retraumatization for some of our audience members, so we’ve decided not to allow citizens of Russia or Belarus to participate without first informing the audience.
This precaution stems from painful experiences.
For many Ukrainians, the idea of engaging with Russians or Belarusians at this time is impossible. The depth of trauma is too great, and any attempt at forced reconciliation is premature. Our priority now is supporting those in acute need, ensuring that our spaces are places of healing rather than conflict.
A Path Toward Healing and Support
Playback theater in Ukraine today is about survival, resilience, and community-building. While we hope that someday there will be opportunities for dialogue and reconciliation, for now, our focus remains on supporting those who are still living through the trauma of war. Playback theater has become a point of support for both practitioners and audiences, offering a form of emotional refuge in a time of crisis.
At the same time, the work is demanding, and many playback practitioners face burnout from the constant emotional strain. As we continue to serve those in need, we also seek external funding to sustain our efforts, ensuring that playback theater can continue to provide critical support for displaced and traumatized communities.
In closing, playback theater in the context of the Ukrainian war is not just a form of artistic expression—it is a lifeline for those who have lost homes, loved ones, and a sense of normalcy. It allows people to process their experiences, share their stories, and, in some small way, begin to heal.
Here is a folder with some materials about our work.
Nour Wardani: Politics in Playback
Nour Wardani holds a master’s degree in psychosomatic approaches, is the mother of Mellina, and a physical therapist working with persons with mental and physical disabilities. She has been a Playback practitioner since 2013.
Laban was founded in 2009 and became a registered NGO in Lebanon in 2010. We are a theater-based troupe specializing in improvisational theater. In 2013 we started doing Playback. As an NGO, our mission encompasses social and humanitarian efforts through PT, Forum theater, Image theater, workshops and dramatherapy. We had partnered with various local and international organizations to address conflicts and their consequences.
I have never lived in peace or civil rest. Nor has Laban, Lebanon, or the Middle East. Consequently we have never known life outside war, nor Playback outside war. Our past, present and future are deeply influenced by politics and our stories reflect this. I have worked within Laban since 2014 on various topics, including gender based violence, substance abuse, memory of the war, conflict resolution, child protection, migrant workers laws, racism, refugees, use of weapons, nonviolent communication, bullying, hygiene, sexual harassment, and social stability.
According to the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, social work can disrupt cycles of trauma and promote long-term well-being, when tailored and incorporating key elements such as Trauma informed care, customized intervention, community engagement, and long-term empowerment. Playback theater effectively covers all these elements, it is a tool we master and we must utilize to achieve our goals.
Lebanon endured fifteen years of civil war, full of atrocities that ended without justice for victims, accountability for fighters and reconciliation for the community. In partnership with Fighters for peace Playback theater offered an alternative while being honest and radical. Through our work the tellers/victims were able to raise their voices, call for justice and document their histories; the tellers/fighters openly shared what happened and why, accepted accountability and listened to the unspoken.
Following the Beirut port blast, we conducted a series of Playback performances for residents of the surroundings areas in collaboration with UN Development Program’s peace building office. This project documented the event and the corruption leading to this crime, culminating in a book and a statue made of rubble from the bombing to commemorate this pivotal moment in Lebanese history.
Ongoing small wars and conflicts happen in different areas of Lebanon. In Tripoli, north Lebanon, a series of Playback performances, followed by a forum theater play targeting ISIS members family and child soldiers, helped people confront their realities, reassess their beliefs and take actions against extremist behaviors. We also established a Playback troupe with participants from conflicting sides to facilitate direct dialogue, share their narratives, see their communalities and foster empathy towards their differences while embodying each other’s stories and present.
Since 1948 Palestinians in the occupied territories, West Bank and Gaza, have been isolated from the international community or anything outside their country. Laban participated in the Playback Festival for Palestine and Jabal el Risan festival, enacting the stories of the Palestinians, joining online from Beirut with a live audience to spread the word about the oppressions happening.
In 2011 the revolution and ensuing war in Syria started, resulting in a large influx of refugees into Lebanon, who are facing miserable life conditions and extreme racism. As Lebanese working with these refugees, it is crucial for us to acknowledge our privilege and demonstrate unequivocally that we stand with them. That’s why we must bluntly show that we are on their side for them to feel safe and share their stories. Neutrality would place us on the side of their oppressors.
Last but not least, the south of Lebanon has been under war since October 2023. The work in the south started a long time ago. Believe it or not they are people with social issues like all of us. Our work in the south addressed social issues as gender dynamics, family protection, parenting, the effects of social media etc… and now we continue to support the displaced by providing a safe place. Where the identity gets lost and the experience makes no sense, Playback comes to remind people of their individuality and what truly matters.
War is actually lost lives, physical injuries and mental health impacts… it’s not merely a state of mind. “Can Playback make a difference in times of civil unrest and war?” Yes, it can, keeping in mind that change comes from discomfort and honesty, not political correctness. Understanding the context we work in, uncovering the truth and saying it radically is crucial. As Jo Salas has said, Playback Theater is a teaching space, so let’s use it wisely.
We at Laban are guided by our values of human rights and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. We will not place ourselves in the presence of Israeli participants, funders, organizers, or trainers. This not only an alignment to the BDS movement, it is a way for us to deprive them of credibility and to refrain from giving the false impression that the so-called state of Israel is a normal country.
In my introductory training in Playback theater, Benjamin Rivers shared these thoughts: Nothing is more traumatizing than the trauma itself. Do not be afraid to present stories as they are, do not try to shield your tellers and audience from their reality. Neutrality kills empathy, political correctness or attempts to appear accepting can be misled to become tools that support the oppressors.
As Playback practitioners, we can navigate the stories of the opposing side, we can strive for neutrality as Playbackers when conflicts are civil and the power is balanced. However, in situations of occupation, genocide and decades of systematic oppression, dialogue and acceptance cannot happen when there is no fair foundation to build on. That’s when we must hold on to our values.
Art is not a good practice by itself, it depends on what it offers.
One remark struck me – so-called Israel – for me, not accepting Israel is the root of division, is poisonous, is aggressive. It is despicable. Israel is an independent country, born as a result of 20th century’s catastrophe of Holocaust. Under attack from forces that refuse to allow Jews to exist. This is my opinion. To have peace, there must be understanding that both sides are hurt, both sides need support, and it is one huge pain for all us in the world. Let’s build the bridges, not burn them. 💖
Thank you all for this valuable summary of your views and work.