Life is a journey but what exactly do we discover on this road and more importantly, how well do we know ourselves?
Actor Fırat Tanış brings to life this intriguing story about love, life, brotherhood, separation, and reunion, narrated from mountaintops, watersides, and fields.
It is a tale for all time, inspired by Sufi mystic Yunus Emre’s 700-year poem ‘Gelin Tanış Olalım’ / ‘Let’s Get Acquainted’, adapted by Semih Çelenk into this poignant contemporary one-person play.
Best known for his roles in Netflix series The Club (2021-23) and the multi-award winning Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011), Tanış gives an extraordinary performance here as pious Abdal, a man who submits to the will of fate, seeks to avoid all haram (sinful acts) and willingly shares what he has with others as he leads a life full of love, compassion and good will.
Abdal talks to a fellow traveller – us in the audience – but in essence, the conversation is one we are having with ourselves as we seek to emerge from a nightmarish world of ashes and dust in this captivating musical that draws on universal wisdoms found in Turkish folk music and traditional Anatolian sayings from across the ages, including those attributed to legendary Alevi poet Pir Sultan Abdal through to iconic troubadour Âşık Veysel.
A live orchestra, courtesy of Cem Erdost İleri, Mehmet Taylan Ünal, Sitar Sertaç Şanlı, and Mesut Ulusan, adds to play’s spiritually uplifting ambience.
Tanış has performed the play in theatres across Turkiye, garnering rave reviews, with many returning to see Gelin Tanış Olalım more than once, regarding it as part group therapy and part genuine exploration of our inner world as we look beyond the boundaries that separate us and instead focus on the spirit of unity.
Produced by Donkişot Tiyatro and directed by Tarık Güvenç, this memorable and unique play will be performed for one night only at The Clapham Grand in May.
Theatre Details
Title: Fırat Tanış ile Gelin Tanış Olalım
Language: Turkish
Date Sunday 19 May 2024
Time: 7pm
Duration: 3 hours and 30 minutes
Venue: The Clapham Grand, Saint John’s Hill, London SW11 1TT
Admission: ticket prices range from £46 to £66
Tickets: buy online from Eventbrite – click here
