ÖTEKİ TİYATRO

COMPANY PROFILE
Öteki Tiyatro was founded in Ankara in 1998. Since its establishment, the company has developed
original productions that reinterpret classical and contemporary texts, create new connections
between literature and theatre, and critically examine the relationship between the individual,
power, and society.
The company’s Artistic Director and co-founder, Murat Karahüseyinoğlu, graduated from the
Department of Theatre at Ankara University’s Faculty of Languages, History and Geography. His
artistic practice focuses particularly on rereading existing texts, adapting and rewriting them, and
bringing them into dialogue with different theatrical forms and languages. His work on
Shakespeare, Beckett, Oğuz Atay, Kafka, Camus, Ionesco, and various writers of Turkish literature
reflects this approach.
Öteki Tiyatro’s Shakespeare repertoire includes Hamlet forever, Aman Şekspir Duymasın!, Venedikli
Tacir (The Merchant of Venice), and Soytarı Kral Lear (King Lear and the Fool). Rather than
approaching Shakespeare solely through conventional staging, the company explores his texts
through rewriting, dramaturgical transformation, and intercultural theatrical forms.
An important part of this research is the encounter with Karagöz, the traditional Turkish shadowtheatre form.
Godot Bize Gelmez, developed from Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, brings the Karagöz
tradition into dialogue with contemporary theatre by replacing Vladimir and Estragon with Hacivat
and Karagöz in a radical rewriting of the original. Similarly, Venedikli Tacir, adapted from
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, establishes a direct encounter between Shakespeare and the
tradition of Karagöz for adult audiences. The production relocates Shakespeare’s story to Ottoman
Istanbul, reconsidering questions of law, justice, and power within a different cultural context. The
production was created in collaboration with Öteki Tiyatro and Hayali Tasvir.
SELECTED PRODUCTIONS
• Soytarı Kral Lear / King Lear and the Fool
Based on William Shakespeare. Adapted and directed by Murat Karahüseyinoğlu.
80 min.
• Venedikli Tacir / The Merchant of Venice
Adapted and rewritten from William Shakespeare by Murat Karahüseyinoğlu.
Karagöz / Shadow Theatre.
60 min.
• Hamlet forever
Based on William Shakespeare. Reworked, translated and directed by Murat
Karahüseyinoğlu.
• Aman Şekspir Duymasın!
Based on William Shakespeare. Adapted for the stage and directed by Murat
Karahüseyinoğlu.
• Godot Bize Gelmez / Godot Will Not Come to Us
Rewritten and directed by Murat Karahüseyinoğlu, based on Samuel Beckett.
Karagöz / Shadow Theatre.
80 min.
• Korkuyu Beklerken / Waiting in Fear
Based on Oğuz Atay. Adapted for the stage and directed by Murat Karahüseyinoğlu.
• 12 Öfkeli Adam / 12 Angry Men
A theatrical examination of the proceedings and testimonies surrounding the death sentences
of three left-wing students, based on official records. Adapted and directed by Murat
Karahüseyinoğlu.
70 min.
• Hesap Lütfen
Written and directed by Murat Karahüseyinoğlu.
• Çıkışyokland Cumhuriyeti / The Republic of No Exit
Adapted from Metin Üstündağ. Adapted for the stage and directed by Murat
Karahüseyinoğlu.
• Belgelerle Kurtuluş Savaşı / The Turkish War of Independence Through Documents
Directed by Murat Karahüseyinoğlu.
• Savaşa Hoş Geldiniz / Welcome to the War
Produced and directed by Murat Karahüseyinoğlu.
• Maymun Osvald / Osvald the Monkey
Children's theatre production.
Turkey–Denmark ASSITEJ co-production.
• Adela Ölmesin / Let Adela Live
Adapted and directed by Özge Öztürk.
• Azizname
Adapted and directed by Yücel Erten, based on Aziz Nesin.
• Akıllı... Daha Akıllı... Daha Daha Akıllı... / Smart... Smarter... Even Smarter...
Children's theatre production.
Turkey–Denmark ASSITEJ co-production.
SELECTED AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS
• Çıkışyokland Cumhuriyeti — Sanat Kurumu 2005 “Commendable Production” Award.
• Korkuyu Beklerken — Best Actor Award, 9th Lions Theatre Awards; “Commendable
Performer” Award, Sanat Kurumu.
• Murat Karahüseyinoğlu and Haluk Yüce — Awarded at the 7th Lions Theatre Awards
for their work in Hayal Oyunları.
• Godot Bize Gelmez — Üstün Akmen – Tuncer Cücenoğlu Special Award for
Playwriting, awarded to Murat Karahüseyinoğlu for Turkish Playwright of the Year.
ARTISTIC APPROACH
One of Öteki Tiyatro’s central areas of practice is the rereading and adaptation of existing literary
and dramatic texts, and their encounter with different theatrical languages. In the company’s work,
classical texts are brought into dialogue with contemporary political and social questions, while the
possibilities of traditional Turkish theatre are explored alongside contemporary texts and forms.
In particular, the company’s recent work has brought major texts from the Western theatrical canon,
including Shakespeare and Beckett, into dialogue with the local, critical, and political storytelling
tradition of Karagöz. This approach forms the foundation of Öteki Tiyatro’s ongoing exploration of
an intercultural theatrical language for international contexts.
INTERNATIONAL ARTISTIC FOCUS
Öteki Tiyatro continues to develop small-scale, internationally tourable productions that reinterpret
Shakespeare and other classical texts within different cultural contexts.
King Lear and the Fool represents the current stage of this artistic research. Its two-actor structure,
minimal stage design, and dialogue between Shakespeare and Karagöz allow the production to
adapt to different performance conditions and travel easily across international festival settings.
Through this work, Öteki Tiyatro aims to continue exploring how classical texts can acquire new
meanings when placed in dialogue with the theatrical traditions, cultural histories, and
contemporary questions of different societies.