DATE AND VENUE

Written by: Magne van den Berg
Translated into Turkish by: Şaban Ol
Directed by: Mert Öner
Performers: Sevi Yılmaz, Şirin Kılavuz

Dutch playwright Magne van den Berg will be our guest at a reader’s theatre as part of the festivals section Dutch Focus, which was made possible through the collaboration of İstanbul Theatre Festival and Dutch Performing Arts Fund. Magne van den Berg’s play titled Kale bomen ruisen niet [Bare Trees Don’t Rustle] will be staged as a reader’s theatre for the festival. Magne van der Berg was born in Enschede in 1967 and graduated from the Mime Department of the Academy of Theatre and Dance of the Amsterdam University of Arts in 1994. She directed her own plays until 1999 and has fully focused on playwrighting since 2006. Magne van der Berg won the 2008 H.G. van der Vies award for De lange nasleep van een korte mededeling [The Long Aftermath of a Short Communication]. The play was translated into German and English. In 2014, her play Met mijn vader in bed (wegens omstandigheden) [In Bed with My Father (owing to unforeseen circumstances)] was selected for the Wiesbaden Neue Stücke Festival and nominated for the Toneelschrijfprijs (formerly the Taalunie Playwrighting Literary Award). She won the award in 2016 with Ik speel geen Medea [I Don’t Play Medea]. Magne van den Berg continues to direct plays with notable artists such as the choreographer Nicole Beutler and director Timothy de Gilde.

The power of the Bare Trees Don’t Rustle text is especially evident in the dialogue and minimalist lines of the two women. The drama, pain, regrets and hopes of the two women are expressed in as few words as possible. One morning, two women wake up at a campsite. They get dressed, get prepared and start to wait for a visitor. It’s a very important visit, and they need to be dressed formally. The text never clearly states who or how many people will be visiting. It’s actually the story of the lives of two women who have taken refuge from the world and men. With these qualities, the play could be considered to be a contemporary and female-oriented Waiting for Godot.

After the reader’s theatre, a Q&A session will be held with the playwright. Magne van den Berg will also meet with the participants of the New Text Playwriting Workshop organized by GalataPerform.

Since capacity for the event is limited, reservations must be made until Friday, October 1 for participation.

DUTCH FOCUS
Three productions in the festival section titled Dutch Focus, supported by the Dutch Performing Arts Fund, meet with our audience this year; Medea, Oedipus and Alice, as well as the reader’s theatre Bare Trees Don't Rustle.

With the contribution Saint Benoît French High School