Monday in the Sun...
by Safac Uysal & Bedrihan Dehmen of Turkey

Contemporary dance. Two Turkish men explore the nature of male friendship, inspired by the personal experiences of the two creators.

Bedirhan Dehmen (Bogazici Performing Arts Ensemble) and Safak Uysal (laborataur performance lab) toured this show with SEAS in 2008 and 2009, adapting it to public spaces and harbour fronts on the Black Sea coast.

In the North SEAS tour, choreographer Uysal will author a radical re-invention of the piece, working with two new dancers and sound designer Dogus Bitecik, exploring narrative, space and movement.

Concept and direction: Bedirhan Dehmen & Safak Uysal
Performed by: Burak Yamanturk & Canberk Yildiz on North SEAS tour.

Specific sites on the Black Sea coast

When touring this work with SEAS in 2008 and 2009 Dehmen and Uysal adapted it to public spaces and harbor fronts on the Black Sea coast. Performing in such varied places as on a pier in Balchik, next to a football screening with cheerleaders in the town square of Mangalia and the Istanbul Modern museum where the audience was led through corridors, exhibition space, the men's toilet and a large outdoor gravel pitch.

Famous friendships of men

The creators were inspired by both their personal experiences and historical/cultural imagery of friendship. As one of the clichés of the prose on friendship, "the atlas of famous friends" have always been occupied by men. The "friend" has been at times a citizen, at times a mentor, at times a buddy, at times a lover, at times a comrade - a guide, a guru, an apprentice, a fellow townsman, a neighbour, a disciple, a peer, a partner, a secret-holder, a pal; but almost always a man. From Orestes and Pylades to Rumi and Shams, from Achilles and Patroclus to Hercules and Hylas, from David and Jonathan to Alexander and Hepheiston, and even from Robin Hood and Little John to Hamlet and Horatio, imagery of alliance have always been based upon male to male friendships, frequently to be watched over by concepts of masculinity.

Moreover, this "index of brothers" has mostly been conceptualized in epic terms - in terms of legends; images of friendship have always been drawn with ideals - subject to myth. But how much room was reserved in this anthology for the friendship of average men?

Date: 30th September 2009 & 1st October 2009

Time: 9.00pm

Location: X-Site Skatepark

FREE tickets: Embassy Theatre Box Office

Duration: 70 minutes

See Programme for more details.