Mehmet Ergen
Encyclopedia
Mehmet Ergen is a Turkish
-born theatre director, producer and entrepreneur, currently based in London Borough of Hackney
. Ergen came to London from Istanbul in 1989 aged 22 speaking minimal English and with no intention on settling in the Capital. He is to have said expanded his vocabulary by listening to Shakespeare audiobooks .
with Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson in 1993. Ergen and his colleagues created the Theater after identifying possible areas in need for an accessible theater, which would provide its surrounding community with a hub for creativity. They converted a disused workshop into a theater space which quickly gained popularity, and by working closely with local teachers, the city council, businesses and government agencies, they were able to develop an innovative, free at source, education program. He was also the theatre’s first Artistic Director between 1993 and 1999.
Mehmet went on to become Associate Producer at the BAC (Battersea Arts Centre
) from 1999 to 2001. Whilst there he directed Scott Joplin
's Treemonisha, Kurt Weill
's Lost in the Stars and had a workshop performance of Marc Blitzstein
's The Cradle Will Rock. It was during this period he also founded The Grimeborn
opera festival. The Artistic Director at the time, Tom Morris, asked Ergen to create something new and different from the normal operatic preconceptions in a manner similar to that of Tete-a-Tete of the Riverside Studios. Grimeborn
was his creation an opera and musical theater festival
which now runs yearly at Arcola Theatre
.
In 2000, Ergen founded Arcola Theatre in the London Borough of Hackney
with Leyla Nazli. They converted an old shirt factory whilst teaching in Dalston, East London into a fringe venue. Ergen acquired £5,000 of start up money and sent invitations to all the actors and directors he knew to join him in a paint party. They even recycled cutting tables into benches for the audience.
Ergen's role in the development of London theater has often been noted in the media. Arcola is known for its bold selection of plays; “a melting pot of classic revivals and new work … aspiring theater professionals make a beeline for it prepared to work there for less than a pittance; respectable touring outfits, such as the Oxford Stage Company
and Out of Joint, have been queuing up to use its cavernous main space and acquire a bit of its urban cred”citation needed. Past productions have included Peter Weiss
's Marat/Sade and David Farr
's ethnic-minority rewrite of Crime and Punishment
. There were an estimated 30,000 visits in 2003.
. The Turkish company had 'a bit of a panic' about going ahead: some of the cast thought they should cancel as terrorists had bombed the city less than a month before. The recent bombs had come very close to the theater district and one of the actors from the country's National Theater was killed while he made his way to do a voice-over at a TV studio.
Ergen was unapologetic about the play's content. However, he did stop the newspaper advertising campaign which was to have run teasing trails ‘Terror in the Theatre: Two Cats Blown Up'. The Turkish Prime Minister appeared on stage, he was drunk at the time after spending the afternoon drinking raki, appealing to the people to return.
The Kenterler Theater where it was staged had never shown a play containing so much swearing, and never one which even touched on terrorism. Ergen translated it himself, creating for the terrorists a mixture of rural idiom and street slang. At the time Ergen claimed he was likely to end up 'either dead or with a sold out show'.
Ergen has submitted a proposal for a social-realist program for theater in Turkey, to the British Council. He is now founder of Yeni Kusak Theatre in Istanbul
and runs Turkey’s only new writing program Oyun Yaz with the British Council
. He established Arcola Istanbul in 2008, known as Talimhane Tiyatrosu.
Mehmet directs extensively abroad in Israel, Ireland, Canada and Turkey.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
-born theatre director, producer and entrepreneur, currently based in London Borough of Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
. Ergen came to London from Istanbul in 1989 aged 22 speaking minimal English and with no intention on settling in the Capital. He is to have said expanded his vocabulary by listening to Shakespeare audiobooks .
Biography
After completing a nine-month acting course in Turkey, Mehmet decided to become a director. He put an ad in the Stage inviting applicants to join a new theater company, and began putting on plays in pub theaters. Soon after, Ergen co-founded the Southwark PlayhouseSouthwark Playhouse
-History:Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice, Tom Wilson & Mehmet Ergen. They identified the need for a high quality accessible theatre which would also act as a major resource for the community...
with Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson in 1993. Ergen and his colleagues created the Theater after identifying possible areas in need for an accessible theater, which would provide its surrounding community with a hub for creativity. They converted a disused workshop into a theater space which quickly gained popularity, and by working closely with local teachers, the city council, businesses and government agencies, they were able to develop an innovative, free at source, education program. He was also the theatre’s first Artistic Director between 1993 and 1999.
Mehmet went on to become Associate Producer at the BAC (Battersea Arts Centre
Battersea Arts Centre
The Battersea Arts Centre is a performance space near Clapham Junction in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth that specialises in music and theatre productions.-History:...
) from 1999 to 2001. Whilst there he directed Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was later dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas...
's Treemonisha, Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
's Lost in the Stars and had a workshop performance of Marc Blitzstein
Marc Blitzstein
Marcus Samuel Blitzstein, better known as Marc Blitzstein , was an American composer. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-union musical The Cradle Will Rock, directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the Works Progress Administration...
's The Cradle Will Rock. It was during this period he also founded The Grimeborn
Grimeborn
Grimeborn is an annual musical theatre and opera festival which coincides with the world famous Glyndebourne Opera Festival. Founded by Arcola Theatre’s artistic director Mehmet Ergen in 2007, the festival is held at Arcola Theatre in Dalston, East London...
opera festival. The Artistic Director at the time, Tom Morris, asked Ergen to create something new and different from the normal operatic preconceptions in a manner similar to that of Tete-a-Tete of the Riverside Studios. Grimeborn
Grimeborn
Grimeborn is an annual musical theatre and opera festival which coincides with the world famous Glyndebourne Opera Festival. Founded by Arcola Theatre’s artistic director Mehmet Ergen in 2007, the festival is held at Arcola Theatre in Dalston, East London...
was his creation an opera and musical theater festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
which now runs yearly at Arcola Theatre
Arcola Theatre
Arcola Theatre is a studio theatre in Dalston, in the London Borough of Hackney. The theatre's ambition is to create and present high-quality theatre with a social and political relevance to its multicultural local community as well as a wider audience....
.
In 2000, Ergen founded Arcola Theatre in the London Borough of Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
with Leyla Nazli. They converted an old shirt factory whilst teaching in Dalston, East London into a fringe venue. Ergen acquired £5,000 of start up money and sent invitations to all the actors and directors he knew to join him in a paint party. They even recycled cutting tables into benches for the audience.
Ergen's role in the development of London theater has often been noted in the media. Arcola is known for its bold selection of plays; “a melting pot of classic revivals and new work … aspiring theater professionals make a beeline for it prepared to work there for less than a pittance; respectable touring outfits, such as the Oxford Stage Company
Headlong (group)
Headlong is a British theatre company noted for reworking plays of the past and commissioning new work. It was previously called Anvil Productions and then the Oxford Stage Company...
and Out of Joint, have been queuing up to use its cavernous main space and acquire a bit of its urban cred”citation needed. Past productions have included Peter Weiss
Peter Weiss
Peter Ulrich Weiss was a German writer, painter, and artist of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays Marat/Sade and The Investigation and his novel The Aesthetics of Resistance....
's Marat/Sade and David Farr
David Farr
David Nelson Farr is the Chairman & CEO of Emerson Electric Company, a Fortune 500 company. Mr. Farr has worked at the company since 1981. He is married with two children and is a resident of Ladue, Missouri....
's ethnic-minority rewrite of Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It was later published in a single volume. This is the second of Dostoyevsky's full-length novels following his...
. There were an estimated 30,000 visits in 2003.
Work In Turkey
In 2003, Ergen put together a Turkish company and directed The Lieutenant of InishmoreThe Lieutenant of Inishmore
The Lieutenant of Inishmore is a black comedy by playwright Martin McDonagh, first produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in London in 2001.-Plot:...
. The Turkish company had 'a bit of a panic' about going ahead: some of the cast thought they should cancel as terrorists had bombed the city less than a month before. The recent bombs had come very close to the theater district and one of the actors from the country's National Theater was killed while he made his way to do a voice-over at a TV studio.
Ergen was unapologetic about the play's content. However, he did stop the newspaper advertising campaign which was to have run teasing trails ‘Terror in the Theatre: Two Cats Blown Up'. The Turkish Prime Minister appeared on stage, he was drunk at the time after spending the afternoon drinking raki, appealing to the people to return.
The Kenterler Theater where it was staged had never shown a play containing so much swearing, and never one which even touched on terrorism. Ergen translated it himself, creating for the terrorists a mixture of rural idiom and street slang. At the time Ergen claimed he was likely to end up 'either dead or with a sold out show'.
Ergen has submitted a proposal for a social-realist program for theater in Turkey, to the British Council. He is now founder of Yeni Kusak Theatre in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and runs Turkey’s only new writing program Oyun Yaz with the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
. He established Arcola Istanbul in 2008, known as Talimhane Tiyatrosu.
Awards
- Time Out Award for Outstanding Achievement
- Peter Brook Empty Space Award (twice)
- Time Out Award for Best Fringe Production
- International Theatre Institute award for Excellence in International Theatre
- Angela Carter Award
- Equity Award for Best Studio Theatre
Director Credits at Arcola
- The Painter by Rebecca Lenkiewicz
- The Cradle Will Rock by Marc Blitzstein
- Silver Birch House by Leyla Nazli
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare
- An Enemy of the People by Ibsen
- Seven Deadly Sins by Brecht & Weill
- Release the Beat by J. Johnson/K. Lewkowicz
- Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising by Gunter Grass
- I Can Get It For You Wholesale by J. Wiedman/Harold Rome
- Jitterbug by Bonnie Greer
- Chasing the Moment by Jack Shepherd
Mehmet directs extensively abroad in Israel, Ireland, Canada and Turkey.
See also
- Arcola Theatre Wikipedia PageArcola TheatreArcola Theatre is a studio theatre in Dalston, in the London Borough of Hackney. The theatre's ambition is to create and present high-quality theatre with a social and political relevance to its multicultural local community as well as a wider audience....
- Grimeborn Wikipedia PageGrimebornGrimeborn is an annual musical theatre and opera festival which coincides with the world famous Glyndebourne Opera Festival. Founded by Arcola Theatre’s artistic director Mehmet Ergen in 2007, the festival is held at Arcola Theatre in Dalston, East London...