News – Classic

#WEAREARRESTED

1 June 2018 by Info

The Other Place (RSC) / Arcola Theatre (London)

When a journalist is sent a flash-drive containing critical evidence of illegal government activity, he is duty-bound to publish the story. But with the nation destabilised and divided, a sinister power is eroding the rule of law. What price will he pay for speaking out?

#WeAreArrested is the true story of a journalist’s commitment to expose the truth in the face of huge personal risks. This deeply moving play is a tribute to the bravery of journalists under threat around the globe.

Adapted by Pippa Hill and Sophie Ivatts from the book by Can Dündar , #WeAreArrested is a gripping play about fighting for truth in a network of lies.

#WeAreArrested was staged at The Other Place as part of Royal Shakespeare Company’s Mischief Festival 2018.

Director – Sophie Ivatts

Arrangement of “Hello – Adele” by Oğuz Kaplangı

RHINOCEROS

8 April 2018 by Info

Theatre

*Photography by Mihaela Bodlovic

Oğuz Kaplangı / Composer & Performer

Eugène Ionesco’s classic 1959 play is an uproarious absurdist farce – and a chilling examination of conformism, nationalism, fascism and fundamentalism that has been compared with Orwell’s Animal Farm and Camus’s The Plague. It considers the countless ways in which humans are content to adapt themselves to new and horrifying circumstances, and give in to poisonous ideologies. Alongside its piercing political insights, it is comic, thrillingly theatrical and deeply human, focusing on the unlikely hero of the everyman Berenger, and the possibility of resistance to what might seem inevitable.

Speaking of the music he composed and performed, Oğuz Kaplangı said: “As a theatre music composer and performing musician, I believe the dynamics of music should be in sync with the nuances seen in the daily performances of actors. As such, the tracks, which combine acoustic and electronic elements, organic sound effects and traditional percussion, evolved with the run of the production. Theatre is an art form which enables great flexibility for the musician, and it’s been a wonderful experience of depth and flexibility, bringing the songs together in their final, evolved forms for this album, in which I hope people will find their own stories, as well as those from the play.

It was a pleasure to have recorded bagpipes with Annie Grace and violin with Özcan Şenyaylar for the music of Rhinoceros.”

This production is presented in a new version by leading Scottish playwright, Zinnie Harris, directed by the celebrated founder of Istanbul’s DOT Theatre, Murat Daltaban.

A co-production between Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and the Edinburgh International Festival in association with DOT Theatre, Istanbul

FROM “RHINOCEROS” REVIEWS

★★★★★ Joyce McMillan / The Scotsman (August 7, 2017)

… an unforgettable score of driving, waltzing Turkish dance-rhythms presented live by composer Oguz Kaplangi

★★★★★ Nathaniel Brimmer-Beller / Edinburgh49 (March 26, 2018)

a pitch- perfect soundscape, composed and mostly performed onstage by Oğuz Kaplangi. The fabulous use of sound and music only improves throughout the play, and it is striking how often the unsettling and masterfully composed soundtrack re-enters so subtly that the viewer might not notice its recurrence until it reaches an intense crescendo. Kaplangi also turns in perhaps the most unexpectedly memorable performance as a local cat, who saunters across the stage at the very opening and introduces the tone of the production perfectly.

★★★★★ Catherine Carnie/ edinburghfestival.org (March 26, 2018)

Oguz Kaplangi’ s mesmerising and jolting soundtrack (released on an album on 9th March) evokes sense… all delivered to a soundtrack of Turkish atonal tones, Red Army male voice choirs and the odd Hendrix guitar riff .

★★★★★ Irene Brown / EdinburghGuide.com (August 6, 2017)

… live foley and music on stage from Oğuz Kaplangı adds to this outstanding production.

★★★★★ Grah Morrison / Hammey’s Commedy Reviews (August 11, 2017)

The music and sound effects all come from one person sat off to the side of the stage, and they alone achieve more than entire orchestras do in other productions.

★★★★★ Ros MacKenzie / Lothian Life (August 6, 2017)

… The haunting music of Oguz Kaplangi, composer and sound designer, gives this drama Turkish roots,…

★★★★ Anne Treneman / The Times (August 7, 2017)

… the tabby cat, Oguz Kaplangi, who also plays the composer, is particularly engaging.

MEET ME AT DAWN

7 October 2017 by Info

Theatre

DOT THEATRE (ISTANBUL) / ARCOLA THEATRE (LONDON)

“I was near to death but I got this incredible surge, this superhuman surge, and I swam. I swam.”

When a boat trip goes horribly wrong, Helen and her girlfriend Robyn find themselves stranded on an island in the middle of the sea. As the night draws in, it becomes clear that the island is not as it first appears. And neither are Helen and Robyn.

Meet Me At Dawn comes to London for the first time in a new production. It was staged by DOT Theatre in Istanbul (2017) with the name “Şafakta Buluş Benimle” and directed by Murat Daltaban.

The soundtrack album was released by Elec-Trip Records.

COMPANY

Zinnie Harris – Writer

Murat Daltaban – Director & Designer

Oğuz Kaplangı – Composer

Cem Yılmazer – Lighting Designer

HOW TO HOLD YOUR BREATH

6 December 2016 by Info

Theatre

Oğuz composed and performed the music for Turkish adaptation “Nefesinizi Nasıl Tutarsınız?” of the play “How To Hold Your Breath?” written by Zinnie Harris and directed by Murat Daltaban.

Nominated for the Best Stage Music at the Afife Theatre Awards 2017 in Istanbul.

*Photography – Ayşegül Karacan