Bond Street Theatre Creates All-Female Troupes in Afganistan

Bond Street Theatre returns to Afghanistan this month to help revitalize the theatrical arts and promote the use of theatre to bring information on health, civic rights, and other issues to areas of high illiteracy (90% for women, 63% for men, UN Report). In many areas, the company is preparing women to take the stage for the first time to reach all-female audiences.

On March 31, three Bond Street actor-educators begin working with the Nangarhar Provincial Theatre in Jalalabad as part of its Theatre for Social Development project. The two-year project, supported by the US Embassy in Afghanistan and the US Institute for Peace, involves month-long training sessions with four select theatre groups in Herat, Kabul, Jalalabad and Kandahar in creative and business skills. The goal is to build the capacity of local theatre organizations to provide educational services on an ongoing basis to their communities and carry information to isolated areas, with a special focus on women and children.

The Nangarhar group will bring female actors into their permanent company for the first time. Prior to this, the company cast men to play women's roles.

Bond Street Theatre, founded in 1978, creates theatre that crosses cultural borders and initiates theatre-based projects for education, conflict resolution and healing in areas of conflict and poverty globally. The company collaborates with local artists to enjoy the benefits of artistic exchange and promotes the value of the arts in shaping a peaceful future. Recipient of a MacArthur Award, the company has also received support from the Trust for Mutual Understanding, ArtsLink, the Theatre Communications Group, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Association for Performing Arts Presenters, Asian Cultural Council, US Institute for Peace, US Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs, NEA, US Embassies, and others, and performs in theatres and festivals worldwide.