A group of seven Lebanese men who each spent 8-15 years locked up in one of this planet's greatest hells – Syria's Tadmor Prison – came together in October 2012 to turn their traumatic experiences into a 45-minute performance in Beirut as part of the Shared Suffering: Exploring the Abyss of Syrian Prisons initiative. "One Day in Hell," later renamed "The German Chair" after one of the Syrian government's horrendous torture methods, was instantly received with great success, leading to an invitation by Friederike Weltzien, the former pastor of the German Protestant Church in Lebanon, to bring their play to Hamburg as part of the "Kirchentag" events held May 4, 2013.

Although the former prisoners welcomed the opportunity to take the stage before a German audience, a group that would likely be hearing about the contents of their show for the first time, funding barriers seemed too great to overcome. However, thanks to a generous grant provided by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the trip became not only possible, but included additional performances. Hence, from April 28 - May 9, 2013, the troupe reached audiences throughout Germany alongside representatives from UMAM D&R and the Association of Former Lebanese Political Detainees in Syria (LPDS).

Through performances in Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Leonberg, and Bad Kreuznach, the men of "The German Chair" were able to reach entirely new audiences, people that may not have had any knowledge of the misery that is life in Syria's prisons. These prisoners, who were kidnapped from Lebanon and locked up without any sentence, gave a startling look into what a typical morning was like in Tadmor Prison. Thanks to the performances themselves and the accompanying press conferences and Q&A sessions, the men were able to advocate for the less fortunate Lebanese detainees, those still languishing under the studded whip of Syrian prison guards.

With Raymond Bouban, Rachid Mirhoum, Moussa Saab, Mohammad Saifeddine, Saadeddine Saifeddine, Moustafa Shamseddine & Elias Tanios
Introduction by Ali Abou Dehn (LPDS) & Monika Borgmann (UMAM D&R)
Technical Director: Rami Nihawi
German Translation: Larissa Bender

This trip was made possible thanks to funding from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

A group of seven Lebanese men who each spent 8-15 years locked up in one of this planet's greatest hells – Syria's Tadmor Prison – came together in October 2012 to turn their traumatic experiences into a 45-minute performance in Beirut as part of the Shared Suffering: Exploring the Abyss of Syrian Prisons initiative. "One Day in Hell," later renamed "The German Chair" after one of the Syrian government's horrendous torture methods, was instantly received with great success, leading to an invitation by Friederike Weltzien, the former pastor of the German Protestant Church in Lebanon, to bring their play to Hamburg as part of the "Kirchentag" events held May 4, 2013.

Although the former prisoners welcomed the opportunity to take the stage before a German audience, a group that would likely be hearing about the contents of their show for the first time, funding barriers seemed too great to overcome. However, thanks to a generous grant provided by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the trip became not only possible, but included additional performances. Hence, from April 28 - May 9, 2013, the troupe reached audiences throughout Germany alongside representatives from UMAM D&R and the Association of Former Lebanese Political Detainees in Syria (LPDS).

Through performances in Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Leonberg, and Bad Kreuznach, the men of "The German Chair" were able to reach entirely new audiences, people that may not have had any knowledge of the misery that is life in Syria's prisons. These prisoners, who were kidnapped from Lebanon and locked up without any sentence, gave a startling look into what a typical morning was like in Tadmor Prison. Thanks to the performances themselves and the accompanying press conferences and Q&A sessions, the men were able to advocate for the less fortunate Lebanese detainees, those still languishing under the studded whip of Syrian prison guards.

With Raymond Bouban, Rachid Mirhoum, Moussa Saab, Mohammad Saifeddine, Saadeddine Saifeddine, Moustafa Shamseddine & Elias Tanios
Introduction by Ali Abou Dehn (LPDS) & Monika Borgmann (UMAM D&R)
Technical Director: Rami Nihawi
German Translation: Larissa Bender

This trip was made possible thanks to funding from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.