Ersoy and Mendoni met in Istanbul
Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni watched the play "Romeo and Juliet" together.
Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni came together at the screening of William Shakespeare's unforgettable play "Romeo and Juliet" at Istanbul Atatürk Cultural Centre.
The play meets theatre lovers on both sides of the Aegean with the joint project of State Theatres from Turkey, Athens Concert Hall Megaron from Greece and Yorgos Lykiardopoulos cultural organisation Lykofos.
Bringing together art institutions and artists from Greece and Türkiye, the project aims to build a bridge between the two nations.
At the press conference held at AKM regarding the work, which was premiered in Istanbul and will continue to be staged until 28 April, Minister Mehmet Ersoy said that they had a productive meeting with Minister Lina Mendoni and made evaluations.
Underlining that the universality of art has always been a common roof for humanity, Ersoy said: "Art has hosted the most beautiful and meaningful associations. We are also endeavouring to protect, contribute and add value to this. I believe that this project will be just the beginning and will spread to other fields of art in the coming periods."
Minister Ersoy pointed out that "Romeo and Juliet" is an immortal classic work from Shakespeare's unique pen and said the following:
"We are bringing this work to the stage with a representation reinterpreted by our artists inspired by their own cultural and historical backgrounds. While the families in the play speak among themselves in their mother tongues, when they come together they will communicate in English, the only common language they know. This approach aims to explore universal emotions by delving deeper into human nature through the interaction of different languages and cultures. Through this contemporary perspective and new interpretation of the work, we will bring together the deep-rooted cultural heritage of Türkiyr and Greece and symbolise the deepening cultural dialogue between the two countries."
"A total of 13 performances will be held in two countries"
Stating that the rehearsals of the work started on 18 February in Greece, Mehmet Ersoy said, "The work, which is brought to the stage under the direction of director Lefteris Giovanidis, will open its curtains in Athens in May after meeting with art lovers in Türkiye, and a total of 13 performances will be held in two countries. We are also planning for it to take part in the 14th State Theatres Antalya International Theatre Festival, which will be held in Antalya between 17-27 May. It will also be staged in different cities of Türkiye and Greece in the summer months and in the coming theatre season, and it will participate in prestigious theatre festivals in Europe."
Ersoy continued his speech as follows:
"I would like to express that we will be pleased to work in coordination and cooperation with the relevant institutions and organisations of Greece in order to further develop the cultural relations between Türkiye and Greece. We also talked with my counterpart about the Turkish Culture Road Festivals, and hopefully they will participate with Greek artists in a few of our cities. We will also participate in the events in Greece with Turkish artists. I would like to thank Minister Lina Mendoni, the esteemed artists of the Piraeus Municipal Theatre and the State Theatres, and the entire team behind the scenes, in the person of Lefteris Giovanidisi, who worked on this work. I invite art lovers to watch this unique and special representation."
"We see that the relations between Türkiye and Greece are very good"
Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni talked about the process of staging the work and expressed their happiness for the play to meet with the audience in Istanbul in terms of Turkish-Greek relations.
Stating that Romeo and Juliet is the most beautiful love story and a drama at the same time, Mendoni thanked Lefteris Giovanidisi, the State Theatre and Greek artists who took part in the play.
Mendoni stated that they received very nice and positive comments in Ankara where the play was staged and said, "This play can be a start. As two societies, we can make our cultural ties even higher. We are happy to learn that there are joint projects and bilateral cooperation not only at the state level but also between private organisations. I look forward to seeing you in Athens in the near future for the play to be staged on 16 May. I am sure that the play will be very well received in Athens as well."
Minister Ersoy and Mendoni also visited the "Romeo and Juliet" painting exhibition in AKM Theatre Hall.
In "Romeo and Juliet", which is performed in Turkish, Greek and English with superscripts, Calliope Chaska plays Juliet, Roula Pateraki plays Nanny, Eray Eserol plays Friar Lawrence, and Nikos Karathanos plays Capulet, Lady Capulet is played by Maria Diakopanagiotou, Mercutio by Şevki Çepa, Benvolio by Efe Akercan, Tybalt by Spyros Margkoudakis, Paris by Nikos Konstantopoulos and Butler by Dimitris Charalampopoulos.
