Our review of When I Saw the Sea: a sensitive miracle

Theater inherently exudes an emotional din. Guy Debord predicted it: current events today operate on the same register of escalation of wars, drones, bombs, destruction, outbursts, promises, hatreds, factions, causes, compassionate movements capable of disintegrating as quickly as they were born. Emotion is at the helm, with all the madness that ensues. It is therefore with infinite respect that we evoke Ali Charhour's creation here.

The man is Lebanese. He premiered his play in his country. When I Saw the Sea addresses a dramatic issue against the backdrop of a war that is no less dramatic. The issue of kafala, a system whereby African women who come to work in the homes of Lebanese masters surrender their rights to the "Madame" who employs them. Their rights and more: passport, personal life, telephone... Everything is confiscated from them. The departure of their bosses to Dubai or Europe since the war has left them...