Theater From Balkan Countries Making A Splash In Bursa

The northwestern city of Bursa will unveil the 2015 edition of its International Balkan Countries Theater Festival this weekend, unrolling a 20-day marathon of stage productions from Turkey and abroad.

Launched last year by the Ankara-based State Theaters (DT) Directorate-General, the festival will run from March 7-27 in its second edition, the organizers said in a press release issued Tuesday.

Two theater companies from Turkey -- the İstanbul DT and the Eskişehir Municipal Theater -- are taking part in the festival with one production each.

The İstanbul DT will open the festival with its new production “Eğer Bu Bir Film Olsaydı,” a Turkish adaptation of the play “If It Were a Movie…,” which is set to have its premiere on Wednesday in İstanbul, at the Üsküdar Tekel Theater.

Written by contemporary Bosnian playwright Almir Imširević, “If It Were a Movie…” follows the story of a family in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war, from 1992 through 1995.

The Eskişehir Municipal Theater will perform “Jeanne D'arc'ın Öteki Ölümü,” a Turkish production of “The Other Death of Joan of Arc,” written in 1990 by Bulgarian author Stefan Tsanev.

Eight other theater companies from Macedonia, Bosnia, Romania, Kosovo, Bulgaria and Albania are set to perform in the festival. Productions include “The 39 Steps,” “The House of Bernarda Alba” and “A Midsummer Night's Dream,” among others. All performances at the festival will be staged at the Ahmet Vefik Paşa Theater.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)