Turkish-Greek project in field of theater

ANKARA

Turkish State Theaters will stage Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in Athens with a joint project, announced General Manager Tamer Karadağlı.

Within the scope of a joint project of by the General Directorate of State Theaters (DT) and the Greek Piraeus City Theater, British writer William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” will be staged in Athens after Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir.

DT held a press conference on Jan. 10 in Ankara to provide information on the moves to popularize theater in society and to enrich the national theater. General Manager Tamer Karadağlı, artists and art lovers attended the launch held at Türk Ocağı Stage.

Karadağlı stated that this year theater and theater artists will be seen more, and noted that the motto “Theater is Everywhere, Theater is in Life” was created. Stating that state theaters will take steps to enrich and increase the audience, Karadağlı said that this year's theme for the repertoire is “Making a life story out of our differences.”

Stating that they will create projects combining traditional theater elements with contemporary ones, Karadağlı said, “This is a field that has not been discussed for many years. We will discuss the possibilities of bringing our traditional theater together with contemporary theater by organizing panels and symposiums. We are aware that the only solution for this great journey can be under the leadership of the State Theaters, which mobilizes all in-house and other opportunities. Our goal is to start a fire in our contemporary theater for renewal. Now is the time to stand up. It is time to open a great artistic space to the world while carrying our national theater to the universal. It is time to present a completely different field to the world of art.”

He also stated that they take care to choose at least half of the works performed in State Theaters from local writers.

Noting that the State Theaters will make local productions and important projects between March and June during the festival season, Karadağlı said, "We will take the stage with international and national festivals in Bursa, Adana, Trabzon, Antalya, Konya, Istanbul and Diyarbakır. State Theaters will organize internationally renowned festivals in the coming period. There is one that I am excited to announce now. There are countless ancient theaters in our country. However, for some reason we were hesitant to express ourselves by combining this with our own national theater. Now this is the time.”

Speaking about the partnership between Türkiye and Greece in the field of arts, Karadağlı said the play “Romeo and Juliet,” which is a co-production between the State Theaters and the Greek Piraeus City Theater, will further strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

“The value of love will be emphasized once again through the love tale exhibited. The play, which will be rehearsed in Greece, will meet the audience for the first time at the Atatürk Cultural Center in Istanbul. It will be staged in Athens after Ankara and İzmir shows,” he said.