On May 18, psychologist and drama therapist Zeina Daccache opened the doors of Roumieh prison to a restricted but curious audience that had come to see "Johar … Up in the Air," a play performed by inmates. Focused on the mentally ill sentenced to life, the play challenges the way society looks at prisoners while allowing the incarcerated to express themselves and perhaps find some sense of liberation.

Drama therapy, according to the North America Drama Therapy Association, "can provide the context for participants to tell their stories, set goals and solve problems, express feelings, or achieve catharsis." These are the points Daccache has stressed during 10 years of working at Roumieh. She offered theater to the inmates for the first time in 2009 with the play "12 Angry Lebanese." That was two years afters founding Catharsis, the first drama therapy center in Lebanon and the Arab world.

"Johar… Up in the Air" features a cast of 38 inmates sentenced to life who tell the stories of mentally ill inmates, who also have life sentences. The latter live in a separate building, the Blue Building, to which they are confined.

"When I was doing therapy with mentally ill people in the prison, I showed images of them to inmates serving life terms, who became sensitized to their condition," Daccache said. "It was the first time they realized what a mental illness was, and they chose themselves to interpret one of these real-life stories. They have a lot of problems. To forget their problems like that and carry the weight of somebody else, it's a huge step. Others, like the 'commander' you saw in the play, chose to remain focused on their own story. He had the idea that if he were mentally ill, he would become this maniacal character, always in the clouds, who thinks he is back with his militia. It's a way to help yourself face your demons. It is one of the benefits of drama therapy."