The Impossible Stage | 4 | الخشبة المستحيلة by MENA Prison Forum

“The Impossible Stage” is a radio drama series about real acts of resistance among political detainees in Sednaya Military Prison in Syria at the end of 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s. The project’s main idea and documentation drew upon sources such as televised and radio interviews, articles and novels by former detainees, including by Malek Daghestani and Mohammad Berro, and conversations with and among former detainees, including both former prisoner Badr Zakariya, who inspired one of the main characters in the podcast, and journalist Bassam Youssef.

This podcast aims to highlight the struggle of political detainees to build a unique cultural and creative artistic environment, despite their incarceration in an abject setting. The podcast shows how theater, music, and singing are all forms of resistance to the forced inhuman conditions of pain and suffering in the Syrian carceral system. “The Impossible Stage” is a journey to find meaning among this suffering, and an attempt to remember those who were and remain forcibly disappeared or imprisoned away from their families and loved ones.

This audio content was produced, supported, and funded by the MENA Prison Forum.

Podcast team:
Scenarist: Bouchra Joud
Artistic Director: Nouhad Qattan
Production Director: Nael Al Farkh
Concept and General Director: Jaber Bakr