During the early years of the Syrian revolution, there were no notable theatrical performances in the Idlib area due to heavy shelling, ongoing military operations, and the movement of displacement and evacuation Yet, theater remained preserved in the minds of the remaining theater practitioners in the region

Theater enthusiasts feared gathering audiences for any performance to avoid being targeted by Syrian regime forces, which had repeatedly fired shells and barrel bombs at civilian gatherings near bakeries, schools, and hospitals as Ibrahim Sarmini, a theater director, told Enab Baladi

In 2018, the first attempts to reactivate theater began with the implementation of the de-escalation zone agreements between the guarantor countries Russia, Turkey, and Iran Although violations continued, the agreements allowed a certain calm which Ibrahim used when he joined the Banfsaj organization to launch an actor training course

On the stage of the cultural center in Idlib, Ibrahim was able that same year to stage the play "Cellar of Death" with his troupe The play addressed the issue of detainees in Syrian regime prisons directed by Ibrahim, with a locally written script by screenwriter Mustafa Shahoud and chanted without music by the reciter Moafaq Al-Najjar The performance received wide reactions, Ibrahim said proudly, adding that he saw some people crying in the audience

His second directed play did not deviate from the theme of detainees but approached it in a new way, evoking absent characters to comfort the imprisoned ones The scenario was written by Qassem Matroud However, three years passed between the two performances with the staging of the play "Below Zero" on March twenty-seventh

During that period, Banfsaj held an actor training course in 2019 and prepared for a final performance that was not realized due to the displacement in southern Idlib following renewed military operations from April that year to March 2020 During this time, Ibrahim prioritized protection teams providing psychological support and first aid to children and adults forced to leave their homes under bombardment

One of the main challenges Ibrahim faced in his work was redefining theater for the new generation “The idea of theater is absent for this generation because it completely stopped in 2011 and 2012 Now when it is revived, performances must be careful, engaging, and understandable so the audience will like it and want to return for more” he said, noting that theater cannot remain closed without being activated

Theater can convey messages "to the world" according to Ibrahim He added that a friend in the Netherlands shared photos of "Cellar of Death" and read comments from viewers who were shocked and surprised that such a performance could happen in Idlib “The whole world thinks this area is a land of terrorists They do not know that we are advocates of freedom and this is what we want to communicate through theater”