Bursa State Theatre, Theatre company in Bursa, Turkey.
Bursa State Theatre is a publicly funded theatre company in Bursa, Turkey, operating two separate performance spaces: the Ahmet Vefik Pasa Stage and the smaller Ferahizcade Room Theatre. The main stage handles full productions while the room theatre runs more intimate chamber performances.
The theatre traces its origin to 1879, when Ottoman governor Ahmet Vefik Pasa founded the first theatrical venue in Anatolia in Bursa. The current building had a long life as a cinema before it was converted in 1957 to serve as a theatre.
The two stages of the Bursa State Theatre draw audiences who mix on evenings when different productions run side by side. Turkish playwrights share the programme with translated works, so a single season can move between Ottoman themes and contemporary European drama.
The two stages run their own separate programmes, so it is worth checking which space is hosting a performance on the night you plan to attend. Most productions are in Turkish, so knowing a little about the story beforehand can help non-Turkish speakers follow along.
Ahmet Vefik Pasa, after whom the main stage is named, personally commissioned Ottoman Turkish translations of Moliere's plays to introduce European theatre to local audiences. These translations are among the earliest known adaptations of French theatre into Turkish.
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