Ankara State Theater acts to address black-market ticket sales

ANKARA

Amid a surge of complaints from frustrated theatergoers unable to secure tickets, the Ankara State Theater is taking legal action to crack down on a burgeoning black market for ticket sales, its head has announced.

“We have begun tracking several individuals at this stage, as these tickets are reportedly being offered for sale on various platforms. In connection with this, we have initiated legal actions,” Esat Tanrıverdi explained.

Noting that ticket sales contribute to royalties for both writers and translators, Tanrıverdi condemned this unlawful act as “plagiarism.”

He added that while they sell each ticket in exchange for the identity numbers of individuals to combat such illegal actions, this measure alone has not been sufficient to stop these activities.

While this illegal act inevitably boosts sales numbers, they choose not to raise prices, as the country’s state theaters prioritize offering low-cost and affordable tickets, Tanrıverdi noted.

The Ankara State Theater is well-known for having a sell-out in this sense, according to Tanrıverdi, who noted that they occasionally struggle to keep up with the heavy demand.

“We really appreciate these criticisms and naturally we don't want to offend our audience. We are thus searching for locations in Ankara where we can expand our operations,” he further added.

As part of their efforts within this context, they put two stages into service in the province’s Pursaklar and Etimesgut districts last year.

“We are meeting with different mayors and hold a variety of meetings. Our objective is to expand the number of our stages and surpass the current audience size.”

Highlighting that they produced around 20 new plays last season, he also noted that they organized tours to nearby provinces.

Tanrıverdi further stated that this season, which began in October, they plan to present a wide range of both domestic and international plays in a bid to expand their repertoire.