Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, February 17, 2014
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| "Rhinoceros" Play on Stage in Tabriz |
For the first time, the famous Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco’s 1959 French-language play Rhinoceros has been staged in Turkish in Tabriz. The play, performed by the Ayna Theater Group as part of the Absurd Theater repertoire, premiered on February 12 and will run for 10 days at the Tabriz Theater.
The play was translated into Turkish by Southern Azerbaijani writer and translator Ülkər Ucqar (Münirə Əkbərpuran) and adapted for the stage by director Kamran Qurbani.
In an interview with ISNA news agency, the director stated that the play was performed in Turkish to introduce the people of Tabriz to the world’s great theatrical masterpieces.
"We want to introduce Tabriz’s artists to the world’s outstanding theater works. By staging this play in Turkish, we aim to attract audiences and reconnect Tabriz’s people with theater," said Kamran Qurbani.
The staging of such a well-known play in Turkish was warmly welcomed by Turkish-language writers and artists in southern Azerbaijan.
"We had been waiting eagerly, listening for this moment. Thankfully, we have now heard the roar of Rhinoceros in Turkish," said Azerbaijani writer Ruqayya Kabiri, expressing her joy at the translation of Ionesco’s work into Turkish.
Plays staged in Iranian Azerbaijan are typically performed in Persian, making Turkish-language productions a rare occurrence.
Link to the original texts in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
İoneskonun “Kərgədan” əsəri Təbrizdə türk dilində tamaşaya qoyulub