The play titled The Cherry Orchard, directed by Prof. Mehmet Birkiye, Head of the Department of Drama and Acting at Istanbul Aydın University, won awards in three categories at the 24th Afife Theatre Awards, the most prestigious awards of Turkish theatre. The play The Cherry Orchard made headlines by winning awards in the categories of “Most Successful Play of the Year,” “Most Successful Stage Design of the Year,” and “Most Successful Movement Design of the Year.”
The “Yapı Kredi 24th Afife Theatre Awards,” organized in memory of Afife Jale, one of the symbolic figures of Turkish theatre, found their recipients. The play titled “The Cherry Orchard,” directed by Prof. Mehmet Birkiye, Head of our Department of Drama and Acting, dramaturgy by Assoc. Prof. Melih Korukçu, and staged by Kocaeli City Theatres, achieved great success by standing out among 264 plays and winning 3 of the awards given in 16 categories. As the İAU family, we would like to thank everyone who contributed to the play The Cherry Orchard, which was deemed worthy of three awards in the categories of “Most Successful Play of the Year,” “Most Successful Stage Design of the Year,” and “Most Successful Movement Design of the Year,” especially Prof. Mehmet Birkiye and Assoc. Prof. Melih Korukçu, and we wish them continued success in their artistic careers.
Prof. Mehmet Birkiye had previously been selected as the “Most Successful Director of the Year” for the 2021–2022 Theatre Season through a vote organized by NoTiyatro.
The Cherry Orchard, directed by Prof. Mehmet Birkiye and written by Russian author Anton Chekhov, was brought to the stage by Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality City Theatres. The play, which received full marks from audiences in Kocaeli, was also staged in Istanbul.
The subject of the play The Cherry Orchard is the touching portrait of an aristocratic family that cannot adapt to the country’s changing social, political, and economic order following the abolition of serfdom and the rise of the bourgeoisie in the mid-19th century. The family estate, which includes a large cherry orchard, is at risk of being sold due to debts. Unable to act decisively in the face of the new order, the family is incapable of holding on to its property. Along with the childhood memories of the estate owners, the cherry orchards themselves have now become part of the past.
