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Turkey hosts world theaters

28 March 2011 [16:31] - TODAY.AZ
The 13th Adana State Theaters Sabancı International Theater Festival started Sunday. The opening ceremony of the festival was held at the Adana HiltonSA Hotel.

Speaking at the ceremony, Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay mentioned Turkey’s significant artists including Yaşar Kemal, Orhan Kemal, Demirtaş Ceyhun and Recep Bilginer, all locals of Adana, and thanked the State Theaters and the Sabancı Foundation for organizing the event.

He said the festival was one of five events organized with the collaboration of the State Theaters. "We do collaborations on similar events in Konya, Trabzon, Ankara and Antalya, too. Also, lots of culture and art events have been organized in various Anatolian cities from Bilecik to Van."

Günay said the number of theaters was rapidly increasing in Turkey. "The State Theaters had 32 stages in March 2008. Now this number will be 58 with new ones to be opened in Kayseri, Denizli and Ordu by the end of June. The State Theater was founded 61 years ago. While the number of stages reached 32 in 57 to 58 years, it reached 58 over the last four years," he said.

State Theaters General Director Lemi Bilgin said the Adana State Theater would celebrate its 30th anniversary on Oct. 1. "I experienced the opening of the theater 30 years ago as an artist. We started to organize this festival 13 years ago with the late businessman Sakıp Sabancı 13 years ago. I commemorate him with respect."

Bilgin said the Mediterranean city of Adana had become known for international festivals.

Sabancı Foundation Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı said the main contributors of the festival were the locals of Adana and the festival tickets were sold out in 3 hours.

Honorary award to Gülriz Sururi

After speeches, renowned Turkish theater actress Gülriz Sururi was presented the Sakıp Sabancı Lifetime Achievement Award by Günay, Sabancı and Bilgin. "I receive this award from three people. It makes my award more meaningful," she said.

"I have never made a celebration regarding my theater life. I have never thought of celebrating my 10th, 20th or 60th anniversaries. But I have received lots of awards. I want to deserve new awards for my further efforts," she added, and asked Minister Günay to open a new stage in Istanbul to perform musical plays.

The award has been presented to Cüneyt Gökçer, Macide Tanır, Bozkurt Kuruç, Yıldız Kenter, Genco Erkal and Müşfik Kenter in previous years.

After the award ceremony, Italian group Studio Festi performed its play "The Symphony of Water," which drew great attention last year on the historic Taşköprü Bridge on the River Seyhan, which flows through the center of the city.

The Kazakh Gabit Musrepov State Children and Youth Theater from Kazakhstan, the Romanian Radu Stanca Sibiu National Theater, the Russian Vakhtangov Theater, the Chilean Plankton Collective Theater and the Lithuanian Anzelika Cholina Dance will also be the guest of the festival, which will continue until April 28.

Festival performances will be held at the Adana Hacı Ömer Sabancı Culture Center and around the city in street shows. The festival, which has also been organized in Istanbul since 2005, will present five plays at the city’s Sabancı University Show Center.


/Hurriyet Daily News/
URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/83253.html

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