Istanbul festival, the rise of experimental works

It's a generation in which the Festival's director, Dikmen Gurun, strongly believes in. "They might not be the best artists in the world, but they are important and they sure will emerge," she tells ANSAmed. Most of the theatre works were written for the Festival by young artists who haven't reached thirty yet. Some of them direct, others are simply acting, and others are doing all three together. This is why theatre is a shared passion, although many of them might want to jump into the world of TV films, theatre still remains their home and sooner or later they go back to it. As in the case of Cem Uslu, 30 years of age, very well known in the Turkish TV world because hés been in quite a few ads, "to pay for my expenses", he says. Here at the festival he has presented "The Party", which he wrote, directed and acted in, telling a lot about what the young man's career will be. The story revolves around six friends, former uni students, who catch up after a while to celebrate the imminent marriage of one of them. What seems like a meeting to talk about the old uni days turns into a nightmare, where everyone has to come to terms with a tragic event they have shared but which nobody seems to remember. "There is a connection with Turkish society because its protagonists belong to middle-class families: they are rich, well-established and successful", the author tells ANSAmed. "It is a deliberate choice, I think this society should ask itself some questions, react and not just live as spectators". His is a challenge, considering he also comes from the same background. "I want to bring the play into other Turkish theatres", Cem added, "whereas my next production will be dedicated to the lower-middle class." Another young artist with a promising future is Sami Berat Marcali, 25 years of age, a director with 8 productions already under the belt, two of which he has also penned himself. The latest work has been presented at the Istanbul Festival. The play is entitled "2nd Floor" and also in this case Turkish society is the main focus. Theatre has been a love at first sight for Sami, reason for which he dropped his engineering studies after having taken part in the university's theatre laboratory. Straight after he founded his own company and he is the director of the theatre where he also shows his own plays. It's a small venue, just 50 seats, on the second floor of an old building in the Pera commercial area, at the centre of Istanbul. The rent is paid also thanks to the income from the plays. "I think there is going to be a change in the Turkish theatre panorama. "These small productions are preferred by the public because therés more room for free expression." With regards to this, Sami doesn't hesitate in criticising the government and their threats to cut funding for public theatres: "it's a sad thing. Art and education. Those stages are a trampoline for whoever decides to make a profession of theatre due to the fact that there are funds and opportunities. He seems to know very well what his future holds: "I'm going to concentrate on writing, directing is too tiring". (ANSAmed).