THE PLAY CALLED "TOWARDS THE REPUBLIC", STAGED BY MEB, MEETS WITH THE AUDIENCE IN İSTANBUL

19 December 2023 23:45

Consisting of huge cast of 110 actors and actresses, the theater play called "Towards the Republic", which tells the story of the War of Independence and the heroism of the founding of the Republic of Türkiye, is staged to teachers and citizens for free by the Ministry of National Education, under the main sponsorship of Vakıfbank.

The play opened its curtains in Ankara on November 25. After being staged in Samsun, Ordu, Trabzon, Erzurum, Sivas, Tokat and Izmir, the play met with the audience in Istanbul.

Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin also attended the screening of the play at Istanbul Zorlu Performing Arts Center. Guests from the art, sports, politics and business world, the actor and director Haldun Dormen, former Minister of Culture Ercan Karakaş, actors Serdar Gökhan, Okan Bayülgen and Suzan Kardeş, journalist Uğur Dündar, President of the Turkish Football Federation Mehmet Büyükekşi, Chief Public Prosecutor of İstanbul Şaban Yılmaz, university rectors in Istanbul, district governors, deputy governors, district mayors, academics, artists, journalists and businessmen attended to the screening.

Making a press statement before the play the writer and director of the play Bora Severcan, stated that he was very honored and proud to have written and directed the play by working with such good actors and actresses.

Actor Volkan Severcan stated that the play was very exciting for them as they are telling the foundation of the Republic. Severcan thanked Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin for his contributions to the project, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. İbrahim Sarıtaş as the founding father.

Emphasizing that not every actor has the chance to portray Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in the 100th anniversary of the Republic, Yeğin thanked his colleagues and for giving him this opportunity.

Underlining that they worked with a good team of actors, actor Gülen Karaman said, "It is truly an honor to be present in such a play on the 100th anniversary of the Republic. I hope we continue to perform this play."

Erhan Yazıcıoğlu, who performs as Marshal Fevzi Çakmak, said that he cannot be a patch on Fezvi. Underlining that Atatürk and the Republic are very special and beautiful concepts, Yazıcıoğlu stated that the play suits the 100th anniversary very well. Emphasizing the unifying nature of the play, Yazıcıoğlu stated that no one will succeed to divide Türkiye. Yazıcıoğlu concluded his words by saying: "Long live theatre, long live Türkiye.

Minister Tekin congratulated the entire team and presented flowers to the actors and actresses.

Explaining that Volkan and Bora Severcan were instrumental in the realization of the "Towards the Republic " project, which they have been trying to develop for about three years, Minister Tekin thanked all the artists who brought the character to life with their performances on stage and the audience who did not leave them alone in this screening.

The play, which tells the story of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his comrades in arms, starting the War of Independence with the strong support of the Turkish nation and establishing the Republic of Türkiye is written and directed by Bora Severcan and choreographed by Özgür Adam İnanç And Serhat Güdül. The original music of the play was composed by Selim Atakan. As the original music of the game, Mehmet Akif Ersoy's poem "Unity" and the Republic March, whose lyrics belong to İbrahim Sarıtaş, were specially prepared for this project by Selim Atakan. The project producer is Volkan Severcan, and the supervisor of the play is Assoc. Prof. Dr. İbrahim Sarıtaş. During the writing phase of the play, an archive research team of 15 people, consisting of faculty members from Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, worked to ensure that historical realities were accurately reflected.

Serdar Yeğin, Gülen Karman, Erhan Yazıcıoğlu, Ahmet Yenilmez, Zuhal Yalçın, Levent Özdilek, Şebnem Özinal, Ziya Kürküt, Sefa Zengin, Yiğit Yapıcı and Volkan Severcan play the starring role of the play consisting of a huge cast of 110 actors and actresses.

The Plot of the Play

The play begins with a teacher explaining to his 10 year old student Ali how the republic was declared. In the process that continued with Mustafa Kemal Pasha and his comrades establishing the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye in Ankara, the play tells the victory of the War of Independence gaining by the heroes of National Struggle and the Turkish nation fighting as one fist, to the last drop of their blood. The play ends with the declaration of the Republic by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The Play Info:

Written & Directed by: Bora Severcan

Supervisor: Assoc. Dr. İbrahim Sarıtaş

Music: Selim Atakan

Choreography: Özgür Adam İnanç & Serhat Güdül

Decoration and Costume Design: Özlem Topuz

Lighting Design: Yakup Çartik

The Cast

MUSTAFA KEMAL PASHA: SERDAR YEĞİN

TEACHER: GÜLEN KARAMAN

FEVZI PASHA: ERHAN YAZICIOĞLU

RAUF BEY: VOLKAN SEVERCAN