Iran has much in common with neighbouring Turkey: a gloriously rich culture and civilisation, and a preoccupation with family, food and tradition. Both also share a murky history of persecuting political dissidents – one of the drivers behind their large diasporas. So I was already curious about how CITIZEN, a new play written and […]
Travelling to Sweden for my first Eurovision in 2016, I thought I had reached the pinnacle of my love for Eurovision. But here I am, on the verge of travel again to a Eurovision winning country, this time to Portugal. It’s not just the idea of warmer climes that is appealing (Stockholm is lovely […]
This Friday, the brand new 2K scan of the 1982 Turkish cult film The Man Who Saves the World, best known to fans as the Turkish Star Wars, is set to have its world premiere simultaneously at The Cinema Museum in London and the CCA in Glasgow. Friday, May 4 is officially Star Wars […]
The directorial debut of top Turkish actor Onur Saylak has been awarded the top prize at this year’s East End Film Festival. Daha (‘More’) focuses on a quiet and sullen teenager in a coastal town in Turkey whose life is corrupted by his father’s people-smuggling business. Adapted from Hakan Günday’s award-winning novel, the film is […]
Whether you are a seasoned lover of Turkish theatre or simply wanting to explore some contemporary Turkish drama, this three-day festival is for you! Curated by Saray Karakus and Umit Baysal, there are daily plays featuring some of Turkey’s leading actors, as well as workshops, and special performances and events just for children. Among those […]
Turkey’s world renowned pianist İdil Biret returns to London to perform at the Cadogan Hall in London on 13 May. Titled ‘Mythical Trips to Romantic Lands’, the evening promises an ethereal atmosphere as Biret presents favourite works of two giants of the Romantic-era: Schumann and Rachmaninov. The Full Programme Abegg Variations, one of Schumann’s most […]
This Thursday, 26 April, music charity Talent Unlimited presents three mini concerts in one. Each one features a special pairing, helping to showcase three emerging stars: Cristian de Sá, Renate Sokolovska, and Manu Brazo. Cristian de Sá (violin) will be accompanied by Somi Kim on piano, flautist Renate Sokolovska will perform with pianist Tamila […]
A British mother is arrested while visiting family overseas with her baby daughter. A family of political refugees are moving to Australia to start a new life. American citizens, working, travelling and holidaying around the world, fall victim to Trump’s executive order against citizens of seven Muslim countries, and can’t return home. They are […]
There have been many harrowing scenes from the Syrian conflict, but perhaps one of the most affecting concerns the Syrian city of Kobane. Lying a kilometre away from the Turkish village of Maheser, both are home to predominantly Kurdish residents who have been separated by a century old border that emerged after the collapse of […]
Between 2000 and 2007 eight Turks were murdered in Germany, but the media and authorities preferred to present their cases along ethnic stereotypes, painting the victims as “kebab shop owners” caught up underworld crime and their likely killers as Turkish or Kurdish mafia. A chance police discovery of the actual killers in 2011 only came […]
