I, Anatolia and Other Plays

Since the middle of the twentieth century, Turkish playwriting has been notable for its verve and versatility. This two-volume anthology is the first major collection of modern Turkish plays in English, with subjects ranging from ancient Anatolian mythology and Ottoman history to contemporary social issues, family dramas, and ribald comedy from Turkey's cities and rural areas. It also includes several plays set outside Turkey. The second volume, I, Anatolia and Other Plays, presents eight major plays from the 1970s through the end of the millennium, including Bald Mehmet of Atca; Old Photographs; The White Gods; I, Anatolia; and, Afife Jale. Together, the two volumes grant English-language readers the pleasure of riveting drama in translations that are colloquial as well as faithful. For producers, directors, and actors, they provide a wealth of fresh new material, with characters ranging from Ottoman sultans to a Soviet cosmonaut, from the Byzantine empress Theodora to a fisherman's wife, from residents of an Istanbul neighborhood to King Midas, from Montezuma to a Turkish cabinet minister.