10453 Magic

On June 23, 2012, a curious sight arose on the al-Kahrab corniche of Tyre, Lebanon. Actors emerged from a towering structure of trash, their movements underscored by the voice of Maria Callas. It was the fourth production of The (B)IM Project, a non-for-profit theatre collective touring across Lebanon.

10453: A Story About Life in 1 km2 of Trash is an original play developed with a cast of five actors and written and directed by Camille Brunel-Aoun. The title alludes to Lebanon’s growing kilometres of trash and the set alone, designed by Charbel Samuel Aoun, leaves a lasting impression: a 5 meter high structure created from discarded metals, plastics and wood and covered in heaps of trash bags. Using powerful images of everyday garbage, humour and an original musical score, 10453 examines Lebanese social behaviour towards trash.

To awaken our conscience by waltzing with garbage, to encourage sorting through poetry, to criticise bad behaviour with humour: this is what we’re doing with a crazy hope that theatre has the power to transform people, says Camille Brunel-Aoun.

Catch the magic of 10453 in Beirut on Saturday July 7 at 6:30pm on the corniche of Ain el-Mreisse.