Sevgi Sosyal Yaşamakta Israr Ediyor

A woman, turning forty years old far from her homeland, in London... In a small, two-room apartment temporarily rented, she opens her eyes to the first light of the day. Is it because the cancer, as stubborn as she is, doesn't allow her to sleep soundly? Or is it because the relentless pace of life, which she can't seem to escape, consumes her? Or perhaps it's because the characters she writes haunt her, blurring the line between sleep and wakefulness. If this woman is Sevgi Soysal, there is no single answer to these questions, as the possibilities are numerous. Sevgi Soysal, who loves abundance and never fears it, embarks on a journey through the pages of her books, found within a mysterious package, a journey that leads her both to her own past and to the history of her country. In this journey, spanning from the 25th to the 50th anniversary of the Republic, she remembers friendship, companionship, love, persistence, stubbornness, rebellion, absence, abundance, oppression, joy, laughter, and mockery, always skirting the edge of death, but never giving up on walking. As she remembers how a woman grows and how a country transforms, her path is always marked by truth.

WRITTEN BY.Duygu Dalyanoğlu.
MANAGER.Aysel Yıldırım.
PLAYERSBanu Açıkdeniz, Burcu İsra Kanbakoğlu, Duygu Dalyanoğlu, Nihal Albayrak, Zeynep Okan.
PROJECT DESIGN.Duygu Dalyanoğlu.
Dramaturgy.Collective.
STAGE DESIGN.Ali Dur.
CHOREOGRAPHY.Banu Açıkdeniz.
VISUAL DESIGN.Kenan Özcan.
VISUAL DIRECTION/VISUAL DIRECTIONING.Duygu Dalyanoğlu.
SOUND DESIGN AND MUSIC: Beril Sarıaltun.
LIGHTING DESIGN: Ilker Ergün.
EFFECT APPLICATION.Irem Uyum.
COSTUMEBüşra Karpuz, Duygu Dalyanoğlu, Nilgün Ilgıcıoğlu.
POSTER AND PHOTO: Kenan Özcan
PRODUCTION COORDINATION: Duygu Dalyanoğlu, Nihal Albayrak.
The video production process was supported by the CultureCIVlC: Culture and Arts Support Program, which is a European Union project.

What they said:

The play, which is essentially a "woman's story," uses "flashbacks" from the rented house in London where Soysal goes for treatment, bringing the past to life. The protagonist's German mother, the aunt from the "Tanta Rosa" story, her older sister Gönül, her neighbors, school friends, her marriages, her children, her friends, her professional life, and her illness are all brought to the stage. The play presents a captivating young woman, full of life energy, who possesses a sharp intellect, a broad perspective thanks to her multicultural background, and a lively, colorful personality that allows her to react to injustices. (Ayşegül Yüksel / Cumhuriyet)

As a woman who personally experienced and observed numerous situations, including dying of breast cancer at the age of forty, the changing city of Ankara, the evolving island of Imroz, various experiences of womanhood, class conflict, and the social atmosphere before and after March 12th, as well as experiences of imprisonment and detention, Sevgi Soysal's literary journey, much like Zabel's, serves as a testament to the era in which she lived. This is a skillfully crafted biographical documentary that is definitely worth watching. (Erdoğan Mitrani / Shalom)

This play, with its meticulous script, set design, video visuals, and actors who perfectly embody their roles, is a production that has clearly been crafted with great care and attention to detail. It is also incredibly valuable because it introduces a figure, Sevgi Soysal, to a generation that may not be familiar with her, bringing her life and work to a new audience. (Kübra Yeter / Yeni magazine)

The actors' impressive performance, spanning two acts, featured choreography that at times felt like watching a musical. The inclusion of a remarkable archive of works by Sevgi Soysal between scenes, and the costumes that seemed to function as time machines, were all testaments to the immense collaborative effort involved in bringing this challenging art form to the stage. (Melike Sönmezer / Art Critic)

The play "Sevgi Soysal Insists on Living," which premiered in Istanbul on October 21, 2023, has been performed not only on various stages in Istanbul but also in Ankara, Artvin, Bursa, Çanakkale, Diyarbakır, Kocaeli, and Balıkesir. Furthermore, the play has been staged at international festivals such as the 7th Theaterbrücken-Festival Mut Theater in Hamburg, the Ballhaus Prinzenallee in Berlin, the 3rd Borçka Theater Festival in Artvin, the 1st Amed Women's Theater Festival in Diyarbakır, the 5th Women's Plays Festival in Aydın-Manisa-Çanakkale, the 3rd Women's Faces Festival in Istanbul, and the 6th Burhaniye Book Fair in Balıkesir. The play continues to be performed and reach audiences in various cities in Turkey and around the world.