Bir Baba Hamlet (A Father’s Hamlet) (Eren, 2017)

Bir Baba Hamlet (A Father’s Hamlet)

Transposing the Tragedy: Localization and Cultural Reinterpretation in Bir Baba Hamlet

Premiered in May 2017, Bir Baba Hamlet is a Turkish reinterpretation of Sebastian Siedel’s Hamlet for You (2006). Siedel’s already laughter-packed script takes on a culturally molded, highly localized shape by Baba Sahne’s production directed by Emrah Eren. The two-act play has had over 500 performances in sold-out halls and continues to captivate audiences. It previously featured two male actors, but the recent performance stars Şevket Çoruh and his ex-wife Günay Karacaoğlu, who replaces Murat Akkoyunlu from previous versions.

Bir Baba Hamlet strikingly incorporates various forms of traditional Turkish theater styles, such as gölge oyunu (shadow theatre), orta oyunu (middle show), meddah, and satire. It has been a top favorite among Turkish audiences for seven years. Drawing from traditional local laments, folk songs, and lyrics, it expands the boundaries of reinterpretation, presenting Shakespeare on the Turkish stage through a unique regional and oriental lens. Hence, it should be predictable that Shakespeare’s original script is based on Can Yücel’s translation, which is prevalent throughout the play. This translation embraces the audience with colloquial language aimed at reaching everyday people. Çoruh, who is the current possessor of the historically exclusive “kavuk”, a quilted turban representing orta oyunu and comedy in Turkish theatre, engages the audience by relying on direct, colloquial speech, blending entertainment, humor, anecdotes, and mimicry with the style of the traditional Turkish storyteller, meddah, whose roots can be traced back to the Ottoman palace.

The actors dynamically engage the audience in interactive entanglements with occasional fourth-wall infringements. During an incredibly joyful moment, they invite the crowd to participate in the performance, where the audience is prompted to repeat specific epithets like “murderer,” “usurper,” and “liar” when certain characters are mentioned on stage.

The set features an all-inclusive, multi-functional wooden structure as décor, with foldable, collapsible parts used as a bed, castle walls, a graveyard, and even a stage for Turkish shadow theatre inclusion.

Bir Baba Hamlet is notable for its significant political undertones. It draws attention through its references to Türkiye’s politics, economy, and socio-cultural values. Although it is repeatedly emphasized that all narratives are set in Denmark, it creates a whirlwind of laughter by referencing issues such as increased taxes, low minimum wage, high inflation, volatile exchange rates, and even the hilariously termed “paid knighthood” (payment to evade military service), resonating with the local codes and social parameters of its target audience.

The shifting of senses and emotions in Bir Baba Hamlet is incredibly fast-paced. The audience is taken on a rollercoaster of emotions as Ophelia’s famous tirade about her father’s death transforms into a traditional Turkish lament with indigenous musical instruments. Additionally, blending the legendary British rock band Queen’s We Will Rock You with Mehter, the Ottoman military band’s attack march during Claudius and Hamlet’s fight, is side-splittingly entertaining.

Ultimately, Bir Baba Hamlet promises 120 minutes of continuous laughter via one of Shakespeare’s psychologically tense and heart-wrenching tragedies.

Cast

Şevket Çoruh
Günay Karacaoğlu

Production Team

Director
Emrah Eren

Costume, Décor
Barış Dinçel

Choreography
Deniz Özmen

Music
Can Şengün

Lighting
Yakup Çartık

Translator
Yücel Erten

For more information, visit Baba Sahne.

Image of Şevket Çoruh and Murat Akkoyunlu from Evrensel

Image of Şevket Çoruh and Günay Karacaoğlu from Biletinial.com

Image of Şevket Çoruh from Instagram

Image from Instagram

Image from sadikaslankara.com

Image from Instagram

Production notes provided by Burak Urucu, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa.