Out of the shadows
CULTURAL shadow puppet heroes Karagöz and Hacivat are set to amuse visitors to the capital’s renovated indoor market, the Bandabuliya, this year with a new show by Lefkoşa Municipality Theatre at their new “Black Box” theatre.
Last Saturday’s premiere and theatre opening saw municipality theatre art director Ali Ummanel hail the “exciting and visionary” project which he said “brought creativity to an empty space in the ‘Old City’ and returned cultural and social value to the Bandabuliya”.
He thanked mayor Mehmet Harmancı and municipality artists and labourers for the joint project undertaken by the local authority with the Saydam History and Education Trust. The organisation, founded by the Saydam family in 2016, paid for restoration work and will also set up a 400-book children’s library in the venue.
Mr Harmancı, who thanked the trust and its manager, Şahap Aşıkoğlu, for their support, said he aimed to create a city full of living colour, declaring: “Our dreams do not end here. This is where they begin.”
He added that plans continued for an arts and cultural centre in the walled city for festivals, exhibitions and concerts in addition to the blackwalled theatre space in the old and unrenovated wholesalers’ section of the historical covered market.
Visitors to the Büyük Han first encountered the Turkish Punch and Judy-style characters at shows by traditional puppeteer Mehmet Ertuğ, but will now see the genre reworked and preserved by a younger generation of thespians.
A Bandabuliya Story: Karagöz and the Magic
Vegetables, a Turkishlanguage, family-friendly show, promises an entertaining story featuring the character of a “tourist” who speaks his part in English.
The new 35-minute show premiered on Saturday to the delight of a young audience, with Mr Ertuğ as guest of honour.
Actor and director İzel Seylani, who wrote and performed the show with assistant Asu Demircioğlu, said: “We are setting off on a new and entertaining storytelling adventure with Karagöz and his donkey Garaçoçço [black cumin seed]!”
His comical character’s search for a healthy diet involves adventures at every stop of his quest and features the city landmarks of the Girne Gate, Samanbahçe, the Büyük Han and the Venetian column.
Violinist Melek Erdil accompanies the show, which boasts cultural motifs and scenery designed by Özlem Deniz
Yetkili with the help of actress Hatice Tezcan. Karagöz and the
Magic Vegetables plays every Saturday at 11am at the historic market and tickets, priced at 7TL, may be reserved by phoning the theatre on (0392) 227 8782 or online at www.biletinial.com/tiyatr o/bir-bandabuliyameselesi-karagoz-sihirlisebzeler.