A dynamic production of Makram Ayache’s ‘The Green Line’ opens at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto. It is produced by In Arms Theatre Company and the Mena Collective in association with Buddies and the Factory Theatre Company. Yes – a mouthful.
A winding tale of two generations linked by war, violence, homophobia and awakened memory, this production is driven by Makram Ayache’s lyrical writing and four robust performances.
The 1978 wars in Beirut, Lebanon and forty years later in a Beirut gay nightclub are the two settings that twist together the two generations. The ‘green line’ is the border (both physical and political) between the warring factions.
Oshen Aoun demonstrates his versatility as an actor playing the father, Naseeb, and the gay son, Rami, forty years on. During the war, Naseeb desperately tries to convince his sister, Mona, to give up her schooling and escape the war into the mountains. But Mona is clinging to her education and is secretly in love with a fellow student, Yara.
Beirut, 2018, is where Naseeb’s Canadian son finds himself returning his father to Lebanon to be buried. Confused about faint memories and questions, Rami trolls a gay bar and meets an aggressive drag queen, Fifi, who presses a relationship.
It is through the conversations between Fifi and Rami and between Yara and Mona that we learn about their family connections and the tragedy of homophobia. Naseeb’s shocking act of violence ignites the family breakup and the mysterious connections forty years later with Mona and their original Beirut apartment.
Mona is played by Zaynna Khalife with fierce intensity. On full display is her yearning for Yara and their cycle of emotions, and her agony over the war and the aforementioned violence.
Basma Baydoun, as Yara, is unsure of her sexual orientation and wavers in her relationship with Mona. Ultimately, she becomes the innocent victim of a political war and Rami’s personal war against gay relationships. At times, Baydoun’s voice is very quiet (she is the more reticent of the two), but it became problematic, especially when turning upstage.
Waseem Alzer is the swashbuckling drag queen who is known off stage as Zidan. He bursts into the club with garish red capes and ornate make-up that Rami suggests is more a personal mask than an entertainment.
The set, by Anahita Dehbonehie, is a gritty, smoky reference to the war and to the disconnect of memory. A fully raked space is central, with broken cement blocks scattered and misfit sticks of furniture moved around.
The playwright, Ayache, is also the director. His blocking is smoothly choreographed, transitioning from past to present, making the audience aware of the separate generations without overt manipulation.
A maelstrom of the horrors of war and the tragedies of family grief, impacted by awakening memories, this play resonates with questions about personal freedoms and the rights to personal happiness.
‘The Green Line’ by Makram Ayache
Performers: Waseem Alzer, Oshen Aoun, Basma Baydoun, Zaynna Khalife
Direction: Makram Ayache
Set and costume design: Anahita Dehbonehie
Lighting design: Jareth Li, Kit Norman
Runs through October 4, 2025.
Tickets: buddiesinbadtimes.com
