MEM Û ZÎN – Şermola Performans

In the organizer's words:

In Kurdish with German subtitles.

Mem û Zîn is a Kurdish love story with mythological elements .It has been told for hundreds of years by various dengbêjs and storytellers. For this reason, there are dozens of versions of the epic. It is known that the love story originated from the epic of Memê Alan. The version used in this piece is based on the surviving record of the famous Dengbêj Reso. Mem û Zîn deals with themes such as betrayal, courage, friendship, injustice and, of course, the great love of Mem and Zîn.

Directed by Mirza Metin, the play is stagedwith a minimal aesthetic.It is not conceived as a classical play, but as a ritual. The play tries to reveal the unconscious of the epic through metaphors and create a magical ritual.The drums,grains and stage lights controlled by the actorsserve the rhythm and visuality of this ceremony .Traditional Kurdish dances create an ecstatic energy and transform the performance into a ritual narrative. The Kurdish rituals and chants of the Dengbêjs serve the play to also open a curtain beyond the meaning of words .