World Theatre Day on 27 March was marked in Diyarbakır with DBŞT’s staging of the Kurdish-language play Xewna Şeveke Havînê, celebrating theatre’s powerful connection with memory, culture and art. Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Serra Bucak, who attended the performance, emphasised the bond theatre builds with memory and resistance.

In Diyarbakır, 27 March World Theatre Day was celebrated through the magic of the stage and the strength of collective memory. Staged by Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality City Theatre (DBŞT), Xewna Şeveke Havînê — the Kurdish adaptation of William Shakespeare’s timeless work A Midsummer Night’s Dream — invited the audience into a poetic universe suspended between dream and reality.

Performed to great acclaim

The play, directed by Ferhad Feqi, was performed free of charge at the Çand Amed Culture and Congress Centre and drew strong interest from theatre-goers. Also attended by Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Serra Bucak and Head of the Department of Culture, Arts and Social Affairs Zeynep Yaş, the performance was frequently met with applause from the full house, creating a vibrant connection between the stage and the audience.

A bridge was built between cultures

By bringing this classical text to the stage, the production went beyond being a mere adaptation. Through the bridge it built between languages and cultures, it made visible both the expressive power and the stage aesthetics of Kurdish theatre. While the cast’s collective performance recreated the dreamlike texture of the text through movement and speech, it offered the audience an experience that felt both familiar and innovative.

A large cast took to the stage

The play featured performances by Berfin Emektar, Halit Aslan, Mesut Erenci, Nurşen Adıgüzel, Nazmi Karaman, Özcan Ateş, Ömer Akkan, Perînaz Delazy, Sena Özbey, Sakîna Aktaş, Şahperî Alphan, Şehabettin Dağ, Yavuz Akkuzu and Zeycan Ateş.

Mehmet Emin Yalçınkaya remembered

After the performance, Co-Mayor Serra Bucak came onto the stage and presented flowers to each of the actors, congratulating everyone involved. Thanking the cast for this vibrant and moving performance, Co-Mayor Bucak also commemorated Mehmet Emin Yalçınkaya, one of DBŞT’s actors who passed away in 2018, on the occasion of World Theatre Day on 27 March. Emphasising the bond theatre builds with memory and resistance, Co-Mayor Bucak said: “Through the person of Mehmet Emin Yalçınkaya, I celebrate the day of all our actors.”