Greek and Turkish State Theaters to Collaborate for the First Time

The General Directorate of Turkish State Theaters and the Greek Municipal Theatre of Piraeus will co-produce Shakespeare’s epic love story Romeo and Juliet.

Collaborating for the First Time

Speaking at the 2024 Theater Everywhere launch of the Turkish state directorate in Ankara, General Manager Tamer Karadagli announced that the production would take place in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir before its final performances in Athens.

“Romeo and Juliet is a classic of world literature that tells the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet, children of two feuding families,” said Karadagli. He claims: “This play will be the first ever co-production between the Turkish and Greek theaters. It will strengthen the cultural ties between the two countries and emphasize the timeless value of love.”

Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah reported that the play will be rehearsed on Greek soil and have its first public performance at the Ataturk Cultural Center in Istanbul before touring theaters in Ankara, Izmir, and Athens.

It is still unclear which language the play will be performed in.

Karadagli said that the Turkish State Theaters will continue their productions this year under the motto “theater everywhere, theater within life.”

He continued: “We will combine traditional theatrical elements with contemporary practices. We will present impactful local productions and major projects during the festival season between March and June. Furthermore, we will take steps to tell our own stories by intertwining our national theaters with the magnificent ancient theaters found throughout Turkey.”

The Municipal Theater of Piraeus reopened in 2013 after fourteen years of closure under the then-new artistic director Takis Tzamargias’ vision of “a completely different and creative course, worthy of all the great European theaters.”

The theater, a neoclassical monument with more than 130 years of history, has hosted some of the best-known players in Greek theater from Cybele Andrianou, Marika Kotopouli, Katina Paxinou, Alexis Minotis, and Aimilios Veakis to Manos Katrakis, Ellie Lambeti, and Dimitris Horn, and even some Turkish actors.

The six-day inaugural celebration of the theater included events, tours, concerts, and a performance dedicated to the history of the theater.

The Greek theater reopened in 2013 with the production The Streets of Piraeus, by Fokas Evangelinos, which included a performance chosen especially for the occasion. It starred popular actors Yiannis Bezos, Stamatis Fasoulis, Eleni Kokkidou, Yiannis Zouganelis, Kerasia Samara, and Thanasis Alevras among others.

According to the theater’s website, during WWI, particularly the embargo of Piraeus from the Entente Cordiale, the theater along with the space around it, were taken over by French soldiers who were conducting the embargo. For two years, the building accommodated refugees from Asia Minor (Anatolia) since the city did not have any other infrastructure to host them.

The bombing in Piraeus from the allies on January 11, 1944 destroyed a large portion of the building, according to the theater’s website.