The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is rarely out of the news. Beyond the headlines are a host of human stories, people trying to not only survive military occupation, but move beyond it. How do young people caught up in the conflict see the situation? Do they try to resist it? Run away? G...
A new musical stage adaptation of Bliss or Mutluluk, a novel of the same name originally written by the politician, singer and artist Zülfü Livaneli, played at the Arcola Theatre in Dalston, East London last week. A joint production with Istanbul’s experimental theatre Talimhane, this was an outstan...
In Lake Van, Eastern Turkey, fifteen-year-old Meryem is accused of shaming her family after being raped by her uncle. Cemal, her cousin, is tasked with Meryem’s “honour” killing. But their journey takes an unexpected turn when they encounter Irfan, a troubled professor in search of a new l...
This weekend, Manchester Turkish British Association’s Turkish Theatre Club presents its debut production, Ah Şu Gençler (Oh Those Young People). Penned by bestselling author Turgut Özakman (Şu Çılgın Türkler) in 1983, this light-hearted play is part comedy, part social commentary. Duri...
Cholera Street is set among the wild and lawless slums of old Istanbul. One of its residents Salih, a happy-go-lucky mechanic and the youngest son of a well-loved barber, is about to land himself in lots of trouble when he steps into the shoes of a recently deceased local gangster-cum-community prot...
On a bitterly cold January evening, I walk with trepidation towards a grand, imposing church. Why trepidation? Because I know the temperature inside this magnificent venue is not going to be that different from the outside; I spent many hours trembling inside Union Chapel attending union meetings.&n...
Renowned Turkish actor Genco Erkal shares his love of the works of Turkey’s celebrated poet and playwright Nâzım Hikmet in his production Yaşamaya Dair: Bursa Cezaevi’nden Mektuplar (‘On Living: Letters from Bursa Prison’). Erkal’s two-person show, set to music by Fazıl Say and Zülfü Livaneli, wi...
For the second year running, a Greek play was staged at the ancient amphitheatre in Salamis, northern Cyprus. A 4,000 capacity audience watched the stunning performance of Antigone on Wednesday 28 Sept. Written by Sophocles around 441BC, this famous Greek tragedy was jointly produced by the Natio...
“Totus mundus agit histrionem” (all the world's a stage) If you’re after a theatre experience that takes you back to early 17th century Shakespearean London, then take a trip to the South Bank where one of the world’s most famous theatres is located. Although the original Globe has long gone,...
Emine is more interested in a dead cat than her kids…Al is lost in Grindr, whilst Ayşe – a fierce and intelligent young woman – is drowning in the mire of social media. They are thrown into turmoil when Ayşe commits a horrific assault. Screens tells the story of a modern British Turkish Cypriot f...
