Best known for their annual Turkish drama season in January, Arcola Theatre’s Ala-Turka group are adding a summer session this year. Starting on Tuesday, there’s a week’s worth of Turkish theatre, music and culture, from staged readings of new plays and classics of the Turkish Stage, to theatre workshops, bellydancing and a closing party.
Among the
highlights are readings from TENEKE
by Yasar Kemal and BENERCI by Nazim
Hikmet, along with excerpts from three other literary giants of Turkey in the Classic
Literature night on 14 July. Before each reading, the audience will be told a
little about each author and their play or novel’s synopsis.
The
following day will feature a series of new plays from the group, including CROYDON by Ece Ozdemiroglu about the
little lies we tell people when we translate from English to Turkish and back.
Also TRAVEL by Serpil Delice that
plays out scenes from a travel agency, and monologues from FIRST COMERS (ILK GELENLER) about the things Turkish immigrants brought
to the UK when they first arrived, which they cannot bring themselves to throw
away. This session includes a Q&A with the audience, who can recount their
own related stories.
The full Ala-Turka Yaz programme:
Wednesday 15th July 8pm: Ala-Turka Scratch Night. The company
present scratch performances of new short plays. Prepare yourself to explore
life, love, identity, truth and lies in two languages.
Thursday 16th July 8pm: Selected Highlights from Classics of
Turkish Literature and new short plays by Ala-Turka members.
Friday 17th July 8pm: Underbelly: The Evolution of
Belly Dancing and PAKAW!
Saturday 18th July Day (various times): Children’s Play,
Physical Theatre, Writing and Body Percussion. Plus an exciting workshop line
up including: The Play Lab Company, Celal Orhan, Ece Ozdemiroglu and The School
of Laughter.
8pm: Underbelly: The
Evolution of Belly Dancing and the Ala-Turka Yaz! Closing Party with Tuğba Özcivan.
 |
| Feel the summer vibes with Pakaw! on Friday night |
The bulk
of the programme is in Turkish, but there are some bi-lingual and English-language
events too. Check online for full details. Event running times and prices vary,
and seating for events taking place in Studio 2 is unallocated.
Arcola’s Nick
Connaughton said: “Arcola Theatre is
proud to continue to support the development of our Ala-Turka theatre company.
Ala-Turka Yaz! is an important development as the group curate and produce a
week-long celebration of culture, theatre, history and music, combining the old
with the new – a perfect way to bring in the summer holidays.”
The multi
award-winning Arcola Theatre was founded in 2000 by Artistic Director Mehmet
Ergen and Executive Producer Leyla Nazli. Housed in a converted paint factory
in Hackney, the popular theatre is one of the most respected arts venues in the
UK, renowned for its artistic excellence and innovative programming.
Ala-Turka
is the Arcola Turkish & Kurdish Theatre Group, which was born in 2001 when Mehmet
Ergen led a series of workshops for young Turkish speakers aged 19-25, which developed
into the first production, A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller, which
played in Turkish for one week. Since this time, Ala-Turka have continued to
present classic texts and new theatre in Turkish with English surtitles.
Event Details
Event: Ala-Turka Yaz!
Start/end dates: Tue 14 - Sat 18 July
Address: Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street, Dalston, London
E8 3DL
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