Story of Beraa from theatre stage to the land of fairy tales
Young women in Syria have played an active role in politics and art. They have rebuilt their lives with free art amidst the destruction caused by the Syrian war. Some of them are theatre players, some guitarists, some violinists… Beraa Hesen is one of them. The dream of Beraa is to develop Kurdish theater and make it known all around the world and perform street theatre.
GÜLİSTAN HUSSEYİN
Qamishlo –Beraa Hesen was born in 2001 in, Girepire village of Tirbesipiye. Her family moved to Damascus when she was a child. In 2011, she returned to NE Syria and continued her education there. She participated in Kurdish courses organized by the Kurdish academy. But she was expelled from the school when the Syrian regime learned her interest in the Kurdish language. Despite pressures, Beraa kept participating in Kurdish courses. After 2 years of education in pedagogy and other branches, she succeeds in becoming a teacher.
She is both a teacher and theatre player
Beraa began to work for Hilala Zerîn as a teacher and she also took theater courses there. Her father and mother supported her interest in theater but she faced pressures from people around her. She was determined to be a theater player. After taking the theater courses and being a skillful theater player, she left teaching.
She received awards
Beraa began to perform with the first women’s theatre group Teatra Sarya Baran, founded in NE Syria in 2018. She has performed in many theatre plays and she received many awards for her performance. She first performed in a children’s theatre play named, “Diziya Baxçe” and then in a theatre play named, “Aştî Di Baskên Çûkê De Ye”. As women and children showed great interest in her performances, her performances sparked men’s outrages for criticizing the male-dominated system.
She put her signature under important projects
Beraa has an important role in the Kurdish theatre and she has already put her signature under important projects. She gave theatre education to children and women, who interested in theatre. Despite the embargo and Covid-19 pandemic, women’s theatre group Teatra Sarya Baran has always produced new projects.
She told stories in a program of Jin TV
Teatra Sarya Baran launched a “Once upon a time” project during the lockdowns imposed in NE Syria in March 2020. Beraa told us that the main purpose of the project is to spread Kurdish culture and language against assimilation attacks aimed at destroying Kurdish culture and language. The costumes they wear for the fairy tale program, the places and décor of the program show Kurdish culture and the fairytale world. Beraa finds out fairytales in Kurdish history and tells them on Jin TV’s program called “Hebû Tunnebû”.