Mezzanine

Abstract

Prior to the Lebanese Civil War in 1975, the Lebanese theatre community and scene in Lebanon was very much booming. The war took quite a toll on this art form; leading to a lack of documentation, funding, heightened censorship, and an overall decrease of opportunities for the Lebanese theatre community.

Today, in 2021, despite a crashing economy and global pandemic, the local theatre community manages to silently strive, however, it does not have the audience that it deserves. This research project proposes to give this community a voice through a digital platform. The digital realm allows communities to reach their audiences and users through the simple tap of a button.

Mezzanine is an unpublished website that aims to further expose the contemporary Lebanese theatre scene, whilst archiving the poorly documented local theatrical material of the past. This platform offers an archive containing a wide variety of plays from the 1940’s till today - allowing the user to filter their options as they please. Users can discover local theatrical happenings through the events section, and read about this community within the blog. Finally, the platform offers a history section in the form of a digital timeline, giving this history the recognition and exposure it deserves.