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3. Caroline Torbey: ‘Ramdam au Gymnase’ Gives Voice to Victims of School Bullying

Franco-Lebanese author Caroline Torbey reveals to This is Beirut the behind-the-scenes story of Ramdam au Gymnase, her first play, which combats school bullying through Lebanese wisdom. The premiere will take place on April 12 at Théâtre Le Monnot.  

On Saturday, April 12, Théâtre Monnot in Ashrafieh will raise its curtain on Ramdam au Gymnase, an original and innovative creation that delicately addresses the issue of school bullying. This play, Caroline Torbey’s first venture into dramatic writing, could not have chosen a more relevant subject, in a world where social media often amplifies the wounds of adolescence.

The story follows Yara, a small and frail young girl who dreams of joining her school’s basketball team despite constant teasing from her classmates. She finds the support she needs in her gym teacher, Mr. Abou Adal, who, through stories inspired by Lebanese proverbs, teaches her that true strength lies in determination and spirit.

Directed by Zalfa Chelhot, assisted by Berthe Abi Khalil, the play takes a novel approach by combining traditional theater with multimedia animations created by WeZank. This dual reality allows the play to accurately depict both the cruelty of bullying and the comforting wisdom of Lebanese proverbs. On stage, five young and talented actors – Jana Mghames (Yara), Cyril Jabre (Mr. Abou Adal), Chloé Laoun, Mhamad Swed, and Michelle Feghali – bring this story, both serious and hopeful, to life. “The play features powerful visual scenes designed to impact the audience and encourage reflection on the long-term effects of bullying on victims’ mental health,” explains the playwright. “Seeing a situation, a dialogue or a gesture visually helps imprint the intended message in the minds of the audience.”

“My work as an author often brings me into schools and universities,” shares Torbey. These regular encounters with Lebanese students are a constant source of inspiration for her. Through these exchanges, she was struck by the numerous testimonies about school bullying. “Many students have confided in me about being bullied by their classmates. Teachers also tell me about certain students who are bullied, whose grades plummet, and who become isolated and withdrawn.”

In response to this often silent suffering, the author chose theater as a medium to raise awareness among young people. “I believe that theater is a very powerful way to convey this important message: being different should be a strength, not a weakness, and tolerance is a fundamental value that must be upheld.” A great lover of drama, she particularly appreciates theater’s ability to “directly touch the emotions of young spectators and awaken their awareness of such a serious issue.” She sees the theatrical form as “an undeniable means of expression, communication and entertainment, thanks to its visual strength,” allowing stories to be told and, most importantly, messages to be transmitted.

One of Ramdam au Gymnase’s original aspects is its use of “franbanais” – a mix of French and Lebanese expressions that characterizes the speech of young Franco-Lebanese. “For communication to be effective, you have to speak the same language,” explains Torbey. “Including Arabic words and expressions that can’t be literally translated into French is very important to me because it echoes one of the main values of the Francophonie: cultural diversity and the sharing of experiences.” This linguistic approach is far from anecdotal; it fully contributes to the effectiveness of the message. “By including these expressions, the reader or spectator feels ‘at home;’ they can picture the atmosphere of a situation, feel an emotion, or perceive and understand a message much more easily and deeply.” This inclusion of franbanais “gives lightness to the text” and allows for an immediate connection with the young Lebanese audience.

The play also incorporates Lebanese proverbs, adapted from the author’s bestselling trilogy Raconte-moi un Proverbe  (Draw Me a Proverb). These animations serve as a thread linking the scenes together. “I am convinced that some of these pieces of advice, these truths based on experience, this cultural heritage embodied by proverbs, are very useful in overcoming life’s challenges, especially bullying. They are essential tools for growing up well.”

The originality of Ramdam au Gymnase also lies in its hybrid approach, combining live theater with multimedia animations. “Mixing theater and multimedia is a unique approach because it involves immersing oneself in a double reality,” the author explains. On one side, there is the raw reality of bullying, portrayed by the actors on stage; on the other, a “lighter, more colorful, less grave reality” brought by the animations, with a moralizing tone. This aesthetic choice is not just for show. It responds to a pedagogical necessity: “Since the play is aimed at a young audience, switching between the two media brings some lightness to the seriousness of the topic. Ramdam au Gymnase is a funny and hopeful play.”

Behind this creation stands an author with mixed origins. With a French mother of Vietnamese-German descent and a Lebanese father, Caroline Torbey embodies the Francophonie she champions in her writings. Living in Beirut, she won the Trophée des Français de l'Étranger in 2018 for her trilogy Raconte-moi un Proverbe and the George Sand Short Story Contest in 2020 with Refuge. Following the Beirut port explosion, she published Éclats de vie (Shattered Life) in 2021, then Si j’avais un Cèdre (If  I Had a Cedar) in 2022, which was selected by the Jan Michalski Foundation.

Ramdam au Gymnase thus marks a new milestone in her writing career, with the clear ambition of contributing, in her own way, to changing mentalities. “The aim of such a project is to change mindsets, starting with the youth. Investing in children’s education and altruism will shape the adults who will populate tomorrow’s Lebanon."

Despite the gravity of its subject, Ramdam au Gymnase is, above all, intended as an accessible, entertaining and hopeful play. "I wrote this play so that children and teenagers become aware of the impact of bullying on their classmates and understand that being different is a strength, not a weakness,” emphasizes  orbey. Produced by Josyane Boulos, this theatrical creation now awaits its audience – families and school groups – for its first performance on April 12 at 11:30 AM at Théâtre Le Monnot. Tickets are available at Librairie Antoine and online, with school sessions offered in the morning at the theater or on tour.