A Sad Story of Racism Turned Showmanship: Hartlepool Maymunu (2023)

“A nation is a society united by illusions about its ancestors and a common hatred of its neighbours.”

I had recently reviewed Wilfrid Lupano‘s comic book version of the legend of The Hartlepool MonkeyHartlepool Maymunu and I liked it very much. There are those who know the legend, for those who don’t, I will tell you about it together with the theatre. The theatre play Hartlepool Monkey, which I came across right after this comic book, was an extra curiosity for me. I watched Hartlepool Monkey, which Tufan Afşar took the legend as a subject and produced it as an original play, in the front row at Ara Sahne in Beyoğlu. Can watching it in the front row taste different? Yes, because it feels like you are right inside the play.

Devamını Oku…

So Which is Harder, To Stay or To Go?: Cırcır Böceği İtler ve Biz (2023)

I will tell you about a 75-minute one-act play.

Before moving on to the play, I should convey a coincidence.

In 2019, I went to the Vahşi BatıTrue West theatre at the Kağıthane Sadabat Cultural Centre. I had not researched the play before and I had not bought the ticket. True West was the famous play of Sam Shepard, one of the brave writers of contemporary American theatre and world literature, who died in 2017. On a cold January day, this theatre would be good for me. It was a 115-minute play in 2 acts. The presence of Serdar Orçin and Ahmet Saraçoğlu in the cast was enough for me to watch it. Devamını Oku…

What is the Fundamental Contradiction in Life?: Zengin Mutfağı (1977)

Vasıf Öngören wrote the play Zengin Mutfağı (Rich Cuisine) in 1977. This work has an important place in terms of epic theater in Turkey.

The play, which was first performed at Istanbul City Theaters, received many awards.

In the work, we watch the events that took place in a rich kitchen during the June 15-16 events, which were of great importance in the Turkish Labor Movement. Devamını Oku…