Eski Köye Yeni Hayal – Old Village New Dream
So the show went fabulously in Turkey for the Bergama Theatre Festival 2024.
Gulce Oral and I and a team of 44 people made this magic experience - a huge and exciting site-specific project celebrating local women in the area with a giant baby puppet (thanks to our designer Candan Seda Balaban), movement, games, interactivity, theatre… all in an ancient historic healing site! Here are some photos and press links (I will get them translated at some point!) Video coming soon!
Turkey-Canada co-production, the first version of a long-term international project, Old Town New Dream, was designed specifically for the archaeological site of Bergama-Asklepieion and performed at the 5th Bergama Theater Festival in August 2024.
The co-creators Erika Batdorf and Gülce Oral define the piece as a site-specific interactive experience that aims to bring contemporary female images to public spaces where male-dominated stories prevail.
Developed through conversations with women from different socio-cultural-economic backgrounds and ages across different geographies such as; Çanakkale, Istanbul, Toronto and Bergama, this performance installation addresses local stories and women’s issues, while revealing universal themes.
This time-bending playful stroll invites participants to connect with their own femininity in a realm intertwined with goddesses, puppets, memories, questions, music, and movement.
Press
