In April 2013, Lebanese opera and theater fans were given the rare opportunity to interact with American opera and theater director Peter Sellars, he of the gravity defying hair and controversial, cutting edge, politically engaged performances. Clad in a colorful floral shirt and beaded necklaces, Sellars wandered among the audience as he spoke, discussing the need for theater practitioners to create space for dissident or marginalized voices to be heard. Peter Sellars Sellars’ talk was part of Zoukak Sidewalks, the program of monthly talks and workshops by international artists, organized by Lebanon’s Zoukak Theater Company and Cultural Association. But as to how Sellars came to visit Beirut, it goes back to a partnership formed in 2011, when actress, director and one of the founding members of Zoukak, Maya Zbib, was recruited by the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, a philanthropic program launched in 2002 to pair
India is a British-Indian freelance writer and journalist. She was based in Beirut for eight years from 2011 to 2019, reporting on Lebanon and the Middle East. In 2019, she spent six months reporting from Latin America and since 2021 she has been based in Istanbul.
