First modern Kurdish theater opens in Istanbul

The artists who staged Turkey’s first Kurdish theater production in 2009 have established the country’s first modern Kurdish theater, Şermola Performans, which opened recently in Istanbul’s central Beyoğlu district.

Theater founders Berfin Zenderlioğlu and Mirza Metin’s Kurdish production "Reşe Şeve," staged in 2009 in the eastern province of Van, drew extensive media coverage.

That play was supported by the Culture Ministry, which has continued its backing for the team as its stages "Buka Leki" (Plastic Bride) in Istanbul.

"We have always wanted to talk about art and theater but we could not. Since we are a Kurdish-origin group, we have been drawn into politics unnecessarily. But we want to exist with our productions and without politics," said Metin.

"It is pretty difficult to perform a Kurdish play," said Zenderlioğlu. "I learned Kurdish in high school. Our team is made up of nine people and everyone has difficulty with the language. More importantly, even if we learn Kurdish, the day-to-day language differs from the language of the stage. In the future we want to perform plays in various dialects of Kurdish but for now we are content with what we are doing."

Plays staged by Şermola Performans are given both Turkish and English subtitles. The theater group will stage "Reşe Şeve," again with the support of the Culture Ministry, from May 8 to 9 in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.

Alan Ciwan, 21, is the youngest member of the Şermola team and the only one who speaks Kurdish well. Born in the southeastern province of Batman, Ciwan said there was a local children’s theater when he was young but he was unable to attend as he could not afford it.

"I don’t know why but I had a big interest in theater. My family has not reacted well to my decision and turned against me,” he said. “My region is conservative and sometimes I play female characters. My family tried to deter me from the theater but my love for the theater did not end."

Love scenes in the play

Ciwan, who came to Istanbul a few years ago and became a member of Şermola after finishing his education at Batman Art Theater, appears in "Plastic Bride," written and directed by Metin.

The main character of the play is a plastic sex doll. ""Plastic Bride" depicts a human who becomes estranged even from herself in a world where everything and everyone becomes the same and her internal struggle increases," Metin said, adding that the play deals with complicated feelings. "This is something about me, an existentialist approach," he said.

"Kurdish viewers are annoyed by love scenes," Ciwan added. "Kurdish society has a feudal structure. This is why we have difficulties from time to time."

Metin said members of the group found it difficult to engage with the older generation of theater artists because theirs was a Kurdish theater but that they had established a good connection with new-generation theater artists. "We publish a joint brochure every month with our other theater friends. We closely follow each other’s plays and are organizing a theater festival together in Beyoğlu in October," he said.


/Hurriyet Daily News/