A play “Mandat” (“Mandate”) staged by a Russian director Olesya Deste in ” Küçük Sahne Taxim” has attracted lots of attention.
The head of the Russian Association of Education and Culture Collaboration, as well as the Russian citizens came to watch the play, which has been rated high by the spectators. The play was written by N. R Erdman in 1925, and was later prohibited due to its provocative content.
Drama Open Studio Theater D.O.S.T. has staged the play in Russian, however, the Turkish viewers have been given an opportunity to watch the play as subtitles in Turkish have been also provided. The performance of the actors has been appraised by a standing ovation, which made a 8- months pregnant director Olesya Deste express her delight with the interest of the viewers and the success of the play. The director has also mentioned that their next new play will be held on the 8th of May.
She spoke: “We, the Russians, who live in Istanbul, are putting our efforts in order to bring to life the value of the art of our country and to show this value to all the people who live here. From time to time both Turkish and Russian actors participate in our plays. It gives us a great pleasure to watch both folks come together. We are waiting everyone on the 8th of May, when our new play will be staged.”
The play in a nutshell:
The performance of “Mandate”, written by N.R. Erdman in 1925, was prohibited as it was considered to be provocative. This play describes unpredictable events, full of coincidence, which happened to almost forgotten real life characters. It is a story that explains the tragicomic and romantic aspects of denial of a new life, which came with the Soviet Social Revolution and depicts in detail complete transformation of the protagonists under unpredictable circumstances.