A Masterpiece by Haldun Taner Presented at the Cyprus Theatre Festival in Lefkoşa

As part of the 22nd Cyprus Theatre Festival, organized jointly by the municipalities of Lefkoşa, Kyrenia and Famagusta, the Istanbul City Theatres presented the play “I Shut My Eyes, I Fulfill My Duty” (Gözlerimi Kaparım Vazifemi Yaparım). The staging of the epic work by renowned playwright Haldun Taner took place on the stage of the Near East University Cultural and Congress Center (YDÜ AKKM) in Lefkoşa and drew theatre lovers from across the island, ending with a standing ovation that lasted several minutes. The only performance within the festival was attended by members of the Lefkoşa municipal council and the director of the TRNC State Theatre, Nazım Cede. At the conclusion of the two-act production directed by Yelda Baskın, the artistic director of Lefkoşa Municipal Theatre (LBT), Cem Aykut, presented a commemorative plaque from the festival to the artistic director of the Istanbul troupe, Ayşegül İşsever.

The plot of Haldun Taner’s iconic satirical play is built around the parallel lives of two contrasting characters — Vicdani and Efruz. Through their stories, the author explores the relationship between the individual and society, criticizes bureaucracy and injustice, and spans the historical period from the Second Constitutional Era (II. Meşrutiyet) to the 1960s. The production raises questions of class differences, human nature, patriotism, good and evil, satirizing social transformations against the backdrop of historical events in Turkey from the 31 March Incident to the 1971 memorandum.

The month-long Cyprus Theatre Festival will conclude on 30 June with three performances in Kyrenia. One of the next items on the programme will be the staging of “Arsenic and Old Lace” (Ahududu) by the theatre company Tiyatrokare, which will take place on the stage of the Kyrenia Amphitheatre. Tickets for the upcoming events are available for purchase on the dedicated online platform www.kibrisbiletcim.com.