Young Afghan refugee actors Namatullah (right) and Pariya during a rehearsal for the theatre show 'Red Soil Of Kabul'. Photo: The Star/Low Boon Tat
On a recent Thursday morning, playwright and director Saleh Sepas sat in the middle of the rehearsal space with a laptop in front of him and quietly observed the handful of actors enunciating their lines in Farsi (Persian).
Saleh, who was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan and is now a refugee in Malaysia, would only interject when it came to blocking or telling his actors where to stand or where to face.
The actors, who are all Afghan refugees as well, on their part, were well-rehearsed and knew their lines by heart as if they were seasoned theatre actors.
Judging by the impish smiles and mischief seen during a rehearsal break at Parastoo Theater’s own arts space located in a mall in Kuala Lumpur, it’s certain this show’s cast –many of them first-time actors – are in a confident mood.
Saleh, who also helms the refugee arts outfit Parastoo Theater, has a knack for discovering new talent and he is ready to give this bunch of actors the spotlight with the new production Red Soil Of Kabul.
The show, which is the company’s biggest arts project to date, is set to open at DPAC in Petaling Jaya this Friday.
Common language of theatre
Despite the play being in Persian, the director says the local audience will still understand what is happening on stage, especially with the subtitles – in English and Bahasa Malaysia – will be projected during the show.
Nothing will be lost in translation.
‘There were a lot of topics in the story about the Afghan community after the collapse of the government and to arrange it into one storyline was a challenge,’ says Saleh. Photo: The Star/Low Boon Tat
Saleh wrote the Red Soil Of Kabul in response to the Taliban regime’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 and how it has affected the lives of the people there.
The protagonist of the play is a young journalist named Abbas (played by Namatullah Muradi) who is trapped in a television studio on that fateful day when the Afghan government fell and finds himself surrounded by gunmen.
“This (Red Soil Of Kabul) I feel is a more powerful story than my last play (And Then Came Spring),” said Saleh.
While And Then Came Spring, which was a collaboration with Instant Cafe Theatre in July 2022, concerned refugees and the hardships they faced, Red Soil Of Kabul deals with what it means to be an Afghan under the current circumstances.
“I had researched this story for three months. I had been reading the news reports and I also had been in contact with some of my friends and journalists in Afghanistan.
“I also watched videos that ordinary people recorded in the streets of Kabul and other cities. So the story I wrote is based on actual events that occurred when the government collapsed in 2021,” said Saleh, who studied Fine Arts in the Kabul University and where he learnt to be a playwright.
Prior to fleeing his country, 39-year-old Saleh, who was born in the Ghazni province, was involved with various news organisations in Kabul, including BBC Radio.
“This production is also bigger compared to my last one; I have a bigger cast and crew this time and the play is also longer, about 90 minutes long. The cast features a total of 16 actors and out of those, 14 of them are acting in a play for the first time.
“It is a very serious story because we’re dealing with the human crises, what is happening to the children and what really happened to the country when it collapsed. There are many layers to this story which is why I think it is a very powerful one,” he said.
The cast of 'Red Soil Of Kabul' features a total of 16 actors and out of those, 14 of them are acting in a play for the first time. Photo: The Star/Low Boon Tat
Saleh also explained that his research had brought various events together in the play and writing it proved challenging in order to bring all the different facets together in a coherent way.
“There were a lot of topics in the story about the Afghan community after the collapse of the government and to arrange it into one storyline was a challenge.
“The relationship between the characters were also a bit difficult but I think (the end result) was successful.”
Finding a voice
The play, which offers a reflection of the country's future, also features children who have been affected by war.
“There is a scene in the play where we see children playing war games and one of these children, later on in the play, he turns out to be a killer. So this is how war affects children when they don’t have access to education. They grow up to be terrorists and are dangerous to society.
“Which is why it is important to look after our children and support them, otherwise they learn from war. That is why it is important for the government and other agencies to take care of the children.”
Saleh said that it took a total of four months to complete writing Red Soil Of Kabul whereas before, he would only take between two to three days to a week to write a script.
He has been prolific with writing and directing plays since he founded Parastoo Theater in 2017 and includes such works as A Bitter Taste of History, In Search Of Identity and Screaming In Silence.
Saleh fled Afghanistan in 2016 and is now a refugee in Malaysia awaiting resettlement to a new country. He founded Parastoo Theater as a platform, not just for himself but also for other Afghan refugees, as a way to cope with their hardships and mental stress.
“Parastoo (which is a Persian word for the bird “swallow”) is a centre for the arts for refugees and we try to train them for empowerment by learning new skills and they are able to support themselves, their families and the refugee community and it’s all based on the arts. This is really important for the refugees in Malaysia.
“I have been involved with it for six years now. I believe the arts has the power for change because through it we have a voice and our voices are loud enough to be heard,” said Saleh.
It has been an inspirational experience so far for the new actors, Namatullah, 20 and Pariya Ahmadi, 18.
“I’m enjoying acting even though this is my first time and there are challenges but I really wanted to play this character after I read the script,” said Namatullah.
The young actor said that he identified with the character Abbas.
Asma Rostami plays Suraya, Abbas' mother in the theatre show. Photo: The Star/Low Boon Tat
“We both want the same thing. We both want peace and I immediately connected with Abbas when I read the script,” he added.
The actress Pariya, who plays Nasrin, described her character as the voice of oppressed women in Afghanistan.
“In a nutshell, she is a representative of the women in Afghanistan and it’s an honour for me to be a representative of women from my country. The first time I read the dialogue, I cried because I felt really sorry for them,” she said.
“Women in Afghanistan are not in a good situation. They do not have any rights, any basic human rights. They cannot go out without a man, they cannot go to school, they cannot go to work, they can’t even go to the doctor or a hospital.
“We want the world to see what is happening to the women in Afghanistan and we want support, not just in terms of words but action.”
Red Soil Of Kabul will play at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC) in Petaling Jaya from Aug 11 to 13. More info here.
