Ama (Theatre)

Ama means but in English. It is a conversation piece about art, power, sex and role play in the Turkish intellectual scene. In four scenes, Nadir Sönmez creates a portrait of a small group of artists who examine their own profession with equal criticism and sarcasm, and overstep the boundaries between work and private life more than once. It’s the dialogues that form the heart of the theatrical situation here and give Sönmez and his five fellow performers a witty and psychologically challenging model for a portrait of their own “caste” on stage. The purism of his production works like a magnifying glass on the game they play with feelings, art concepts and the perception of the self and other. Sönmez began writing Ama during the Me Too debate in Turkey. The “naval gazing” is therefore the artistic setting and a way of looking at society.

- Charlotte Orti, director of Fast Forward Theatre Festival in Dresden, Germany

Emel: I told him to use his gayness more. What was the name of that queer French painter? His piece about Kırkpınar oil wrestlers was a big hit. Berk should take advantage of Middle East conservatism, too. He should just go film some guys cheating on their wives with Turkish bathhouse hookups. İznik tiles in the background, group sex of fat-bellied guys giving each other blow jobs in the front. He could stand out from the crowd if he does that.

İlhan: That’s actually a good project.

Emel: I told him to do it. He says he doesn't want to think commercially.

İlhan: We should convince him. He’s been resisting being popular. That's the reality of our jobs. If you're good at what you're doing, people from abroad find and invite you. You see exhibitions with high security during the day, and at night, you chat about politics with some foreigners. If he had another job, he'd have to accept its realities. He should do that kind of social porn. I can help him advertise it.

Play, 60', 2019

Writer and Director

Nadir Sönmez

Actors

Öner Erkan

Esme Madra

İlda Özgürel

Nadir Sönmez

Büşra Nur Albayrak

S. Emrah Özdemir

Selected Performances

İstanbul, Fringe Festival, 2019

Dresden, Fast Forward European Festival For Young Stage Directors, 2021