This month, Department of Theater students are continuing to present two plays that had their Bilkent premieres last semester: “Öfke,” a Turkish translation of British dramatist John Osborne’s 1956 play “Look Back in Anger”; and “Japon Kuklası,” a Turkish translation of Italian playwright Dario Fo’s “Il Pupazzo Giapponese” (The Japanese Puppet; 1967). Both plays will run through the end of February, with performances taking place in the Bilkent Chamber Theater and the Bilkent Theater Hall.
“Öfke,” presented as a graduation project by THEA senior students, is directed by Cem Emüler of the Department of Theater. The play tells the story of four people struggling to live together in 1950s England. Jimmy Porter (Berk Cem Göksel) is an “angry young man” of the working class. A college dropout, he earns a livelihood selling candy in a stall with his best friend Cliff (Ahmet Kılıç). He lives in a small loft with his upper-middle-class wife Alison (Naz Göktan), whose privileged upbringing will soon become an issue for Jimmy. A visit to the loft by Alison’s snobbish friend Helena (Melisa Berberoğlu) will contribute to his struggle. Can he reconcile and find a meaning to hold on to when he is looking back in anger?
“Look Back in Anger” is one of the most influential plays of modern British theater. Remaining performances of Bilkent Theater’s Turkish-language production will take place on February 13, 15, 20, 22 and 27.
“Japon Kuklası,” a junior-year project for THEA students, is a short play that presents a farcical yet searing look at the relationship between factory workers and management. Armida, a naïve worker who has spent time in a mental institution due to the tranquillizers she was forced to take to cope with the pressures of work on the production line, is egged on by fellow workers to take brutal revenge on her paralyzed boss, whom she believes to be an inanimate “pinhall dummy.”
Remaining performances of “Japon Kuklası” are on February 14, 21 and 28. The production is directed by İlham Yazar, with lighting design by Yılmaz Ertekin and set design by Mr. Ertekin and Adnan Atalan. Cast members are Ecem Aydın, Yeliz Balım, Selim Galip, Burak Günaydın, Orkun C. İzan, M. Burçak Kaya, Ege Kesmeci, Turgay Korkmaz, Beril Pozam and Yağmur Uzunoğlu; the technical team for the play consists of Ece Babayiğit, Emre Arslanbek, Doğuş Bilgin and Esra Sürgü. The translation is by Egemen Berköz.
Tickets for both plays are available at https://ticket.bilkent.edu.tr. Students taking GE250-251 will receive 20 course points for attending.
For more information: ext. 1775.
