Haldun Dormen RC 49 was one of the earliest supporters of Nedim Saban RC 86.
TiyatroKare founded by Nedim Saban RC 86 won the inaugural Haldun Dormen Award in the 27th Yapı Kredi Afife Theater Awards. Established this year to honor the late doyen of Turkish theater, Haldun Dormen RC 49, the award was presented to Tiyatrokare for its staging of D.L. Coburn’s Konken Partisi (The Gin Game). Saban interpreted the play through the lens of post-COVID loneliness, particularly among the aging population, while injecting a sense of hope: “The play takes place in a nursing home. In the 1980s, such institutions were seen as places of abandonment. I wanted to take a different approach and show them as a positive aspect of modern life. I take my theater students to these homes on World Theater Day to visit former artists. Especially after COVID, the management told us these visits were more effective than medicine.”
Saban and his theater company have received numerous awards over the years, but this one, given in Dormen’s name for the best comedy of the year, has a particularly significant place in Saban’s heart: “After I graduated from NYU, Haldun Abi invited me over. He wanted to try new things, so I proposed an angry play by Joe Orton about sexual liberation. It became an instant success but also drew major backlash. Haldun Abi, known for saying “you can do it, darling,” this time said “you couldn’t do it darling.” However, he continued to support me when I founded Tiyatrokare. I always sought his advice on scripts, asking if a play would be a hit. He would laugh and say, ‘If I knew that, I’d be a billionaire.’ I always looked up to him, not only for his successes but also because of his ability to laugh off his failures. Very few people Türkiye can self-criticize like that. His courage, intelligence and realism have always been my roadmap. This award propels me to continue my 34-year-long journey with Tiyatrokare. I am also intimidated a little by the prospect of doing better, but even if I don’t, I have learned to laugh it off. Which is as important as the award itself.
