The supernatural madness of Shakespeare’s enduring classic is brought to life at the seaside with a cast of Turkish characters. A world of chaos ensues in a story brimming with love and lust, as friendships as tested and magical worlds explored. This radical adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is translated by Can Yücel, a […]
“In glorious Istanbul, about 100 years ago lived Hürmüz and her seven husbands…”, so wrote Sadık Şendil, one of Turkey’s greatest contemporary playwrights. Such was its popularity when this classic Turkish comedy made its debut in 1967 that it remained on stage in a sell-out run for two years before being turned into a […]
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 protector. Adapted from Metin Kaçan‘s […]
Embroiled in civil war, the children of Syria are exiled from their home by a hostile regime. They flee from country to country in search of sanctuary, but every border is closed to them. What next? 2,400 years on from the premiere of Euripides’ The Children of Hercules, Arcola Ala-Turka stages an urgent new production […]
Young love, a sacred tree, a chalk circle that no one can cross, and Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel, watching over all. Mahmud and Yezida come from adjoining villages, but they may as well live in opposing worlds. He is Muslim, she is Yazidi – an ancient religion whose mystical beliefs are often confused with Satanism. […]
