Master Actor and Director Genco Erkal Says Goodbye to Life!
Genco Erkal, the doyen of theater and cinema, who had been treated for blood cancer for a while, passed away.
The death of the master artist was observed in Dostlar Theatre' It was announced with Nazım Hikmet's 'Farewell' poem from the social media account of . >Within my life,
I carry my fight in my head.
Goodbye
My friends
Goodbye…
Like the birds in the pictures
Line up on the beach,
Don't wave a handkerchief at me.
He doesn't want to... Farewell without a single syllable.''
The Master Thespian will be sent off on his final journey after the ceremony to be held at the Istanbul Muhsin Ertuğrul Stage on August 2.
Genco Erkal's Life and Works
Genco Erkal, born in Istanbul on March 28, 1938, studied at Galatasaray High School as a boarding student. Erkal, who completed his secondary education at Robert College, received his higher education at Istanbul University.
Erkal, who has been interested in theater since his childhood, studied psychology at the university because his family did not approve of him being an actor.
Kenter. He took his first step into professional theater life with the play 'Çöl Faresi' at the Theatre. His first professional direction was the direction of the plays 'Skemleler' and 'Ders', which were also staged at Kenter Theatre. After leaving Kenter Theatre, Genco Erkal continued his acting career at Ankara Art Theater (AST) and Gülriz Sururi-Engin Cezzar Theatre. He won the 'İlhan İskender Award', the only theater award of the period, with his role as Svayk in the play 'Aslan Soldier Svayk', staged at the Arena Theater in 1963. He also directed the play Keşanlı Ali Destanı, which was later staged at the Gülriz Sururi-Engin Cezzar Theatre.
He staged the play "A Delinin Diary", which he adapted from Nikolay Gogol's story, at the Ankara Art Theater in 1965. This work was re-staged with different interpretations in 1969, 1992 and 2014 and became identified with Erkal. He met Brecht with the play "The Preventable Rise of Arturo Ui" at the Ankara Theatre.
In 1969, he founded the Dostlar Theater together with Şevket Altuğ, Mehmet Akan, Arif Erkin Güzelbeyoğlu, Ferit Erkal and Nurten Tunç. Dostlar Theatre, whose first play was "Ha Me Ka Ha Ha Pe", began to rise with plays such as "Stop the World, It's About to Come Down" and "The Rosenbergs Shouldn't Have Died". He also staged many plays in this theater, such as "Maternity Case", "Asiye How to Get Rid of Him", "Havana Trial", "Azizname" and "Alpagut Incident". In the 1980s, Dostlar Theater was disbanded due to lack of halls and budget problems, but continued as a production theatre.
Erkal, Yaroslav Haşek's "The Lion Soldier Švejk", Gogol's "Diary of a Madman", Brecht He played important roles in plays such as 's "Galileo", Maxwell Anderson's "Barefoot Socrates", Nâzım Hikmet's "Kerem Gibi" and Can Yücel's "Can". He won many awards as an actor and director and received lifetime achievement awards.
He acted in French plays in Paris and the Avignon Festival between 1993 and 1998. He served as narrator in symphonic concerts. He took the lead role in films that won awards at many international film festivals. He received the "best actor" award at the Antalya Film Festival twice (for the films "At" in 1982 and "Faize Hücum" in 1983).
In 2008, he performed in the documentary theater "Sivas '93". Genco Erkal, who wrote and directed the play, staged the one-man play called "The Return of Marx" in 2009.
Genco Erkal died of leukemia on July 31, 2024, at the age of 86.
Zeren Çığ
Marmaris Newspaper