The State Theaters have recently come under the spotlight due to a protest. The incident took place during the traditional Afife Jale Awards ceremony.
Who was Afife Jale? In the early 20th century, when Istanbul was still under occupation, she became the first Turkish woman to appear on stage. The awards are presented every year in her memory.
WHEN SHE THANKED THE GENERAL DIRECTOR
This year’s “Best Actress” award was given to Sükun Işıtan. When she took the stage to give her speech and expressed her gratitude to State Theaters’ General Director Tamer Karadağlı, the atmosphere shifted dramatically. Suddenly, the audience—actors and guests alike—stood up, whistling and chanting slogans in protest, and walked out of the hall.
Yes, Sükun Işıtan is also the chief director and deputy general manager. But she was not the target of the protest. The anger was directed at Karadağlı himself, who had appointed her as his deputy. The resentment toward his overall management and appointments runs deep—but the real reason for the outrage lies elsewhere.
QUESTION OF MERITS
Who were the past directors of the State Theaters? Muhsin Ertuğrul, Cüneyt Gökçer, Turgut Özakman, Bozkurt Kuruç, Yücel Erten—— names beyond dispute in the world of theater.
And who is Tamer Karadağlı? It’s not for us to judge his acting skills. But in terms of merit, it’s clear he doesn’t hold a candle to his predecessors.
Karadağlı is best known as a TV actor, particularly for his role in the long-running sitcom “Çocuklar Duymasın” (Don’t let the kids hear) and for his “tough guy” persona. He may be a successful TV actor, but television fame alone hardly qualifies one to lead the State Theaters.
His media-friendly, even tabloid, persona also counts against him.
THE GEZI STORY
In fact, what fuels the strongest resentment toward Karadağlı stems from the shift in his direction—his decision to align himself with those in power. What angers many even more is that, despite never having had a conservative side, he abandoned the secular world with harsh gestures, expressions, and words. Though he, like many actors, went to Gezi Park during the 2013 protests, what he said afterward changed everything.
“I really went there for just a few trees,” he later said. “Then I saw groups shouting terrorist slogans. I couldn’t stand with them.”
And all this, while many artists and intellectuals—like Osman Kavala—remain behind bars. The anger also stems from the tradition of the State Theaters being broken by appointing an outsider.
Let’s not forget President Erdoğan’s 2017 remark: “We’ve been in power for 14 years, but we still face challenges when it comes to cultural and social dominance.” That statement lingers in memory.
WHEN AHMET KAYA WAS ALMOST LYNCHED
Ahmet Kaya was a prominent protest singer in the 1990s. At a 1999 awards ceremony, he announced he would soon release a Kurdish song and video. The response was brutal: forks and knives were thrown at him as the crowd broke into the nationalist tones of the 10th Anniversary March.
After that night, he was forced into exile and died in Paris a year later, still young. It’s important to repeat: it was, without doubt, a lynching attempt.
Peaceful protest, however—without forks and knives—is a right.
