Günül Erdoğan- Zerya Saraç/JINHA

KOCAELI – The director, actress, makeup artist and prompter of this theater group consist of 10 women. And all clothes, accessories and décor are handmade. Female prisoners in Gebze Prison have performed theater plays under the name of “Pepule” for one year despite impossibilities in the prison.

Female prisoners in Gebze Women Closed Prison have formed a theater group named Pepule (butterfly). The group began their works one year ago. The group was formed by 10 women; however, three of them had to leave the group. The group members Besê, Pınar, Rojvan, Netice, Çiğdem, Xebat, Hülya (Berfin Meral, Zeynep) played ‘Mala Xweser’ written by them. The group also performs world’s classics and all clothes, accessories and décor of the group are handmade. Volunteer correspondents of JINHA Gönül Erdoğan and Zerya Saraç interviewed with group members.

Zerya and Gönül: What are the best motivating factors of your theater works? You prepared a theater play named Mala Xweser, what is the content of the play?

Besê Özer: Actually, we began our works in 2013. We stayed with some young friends, who didn2t have theater experience in the same room. We performed theater plays two times in that room with eight people in the room. We performed the plays named “The Miser” and “The Bourgeois Gentleman” written by Molière. We translated these plays into Kurdish language and adapted them to Kurdish culture. Both plays were approved. Our opportunities were very limited at that time. We made all clothes, accessories and décor. We did makeup with only white pencil. We used the music loaded in the computer of administration only when we performed the plays. Despite all things, the plays were nice and interesting. Then, women in other rooms wanted to join us and we formed a theater group with 10 women. First, we took training by ourselves and we got training one day in one week.

Meral Kurum: I thought we could do that in prison when I saw women’s works continued outside despite the ongoing war. As a mother, I feel the process profoundly. Mothers turn their pains into resistance outside. We should have been creative like them. The plays we perform show this resistance. Actually, these plays were written for us by people resist outside.

Zeynep Taşgir: Being a part in the theatre gives me excitement to overcome my narrow, stereotyped and conservative behaviors. I mean I don’t give only a message to people with theatre but also I fight with myself. I am trying to exceed my limits. Seeing myself in different characters gives me excitement.

Zerya and Gönül: Can you tell us the reason of performing play with your friends that live side by side?

Berfin Söyler: We were in characters of the plays with costumes and makeup. Friends didn’t realize who performed which characters. We received very good comments after the plays. Theatre makes us better friends.

Xebat Didêri: I had to dance in the play. Whenever I said I couldn’t dance in front of everyone, my friend Besê told me, “You can do, you will”. She told me I could overcome the imprisonment if I did that. In our last rehearsal, Besê had to give in; I changed my role with one of my friends because she had difficulty to memorize her role.

Pınar Altaş: There are scenes from life in the plays. The real acting was there. There were slang words in the play; we tried to reflect the feudal behaviors. Trying to reflect those was interesting in the political environment for us. We had difficulties until we made Berfin to tell a slang word.

(gc/gd)