Enough is Enough: play laughs in face of violence
Exiled Turkish Artists tour first production in Wales
**** The Stage: “Intelligent and subversive feminist gig-theatre”
Be Aware Productions will be bringing their new production Enough is Enough to Aberdare Con Club on the 16th of February as part of Wales wide tour. This is the company’s first production to tour in the UK.
Enough is Enough opened at Barnabas Arts House, Newport on 24 January and is currently on tour, travelling to 23 other locations across Wales in a space of a month. The production has already received rave reviews, and the tour will finish in Pontypridd on February 19th, with a special performance to follow on the 8th of April at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff where the cast and crew will also share their experiences of the whole tour.
Enough is Enough is written by Meltem Arikan, directed by Memet Ali Alabora, with music by Maddie Jones, and includes four female cast members who act as members of a band. The cast include; Maddie Jones, Pınar Öğün, Francesca Dimech and Emma Daman Thomas.
The gritty production, which is formed as a gig, tells the stories of real people about sexual violence, through song and dark humour.
Author Meltem Arikan said;
“Despite all the measure and precautions around the world, abuse, rape and incest cannot be stopped. No matter how hard the states, institutions and organisations try to implement sanctions, no matter how many awareness campaigns are run, individuals often ignore the pains caused by these incidents. The aim of this production is to show audiences how these issues are part of each and every one of our lives and that these things can happen to anyone. Using the means of theatre, music, dance, humour and surprise, we want to create at least a small feeling of awareness, a ‘what if’ moment in the audience that these issues are not far from all of us, and that we often, rather unconsciously, ignore the traumas being experienced around us.”
Following each performance, a Shout It All Out Session will be held, where the audience will have a chance to respond to the play’s themes and questioned raised, and discuss how to take action themselves. Enough is Enough aims to start a national conversation about sexual violence and the issues raised in the production.
The Enough is Enough band have also today released a self-titled debut single from the show, which is available to buy from the show website – enoughisenough-theplay.com.
Be Aware Productions Limited was founded in January 2015 by actress and director Pınar Öğün to create innovative performing and audio-visual art works. The company aims to produce works with an international dimension and appeal that explore, challenge and expand the limits of the discipline in which they are produced. The company has been selected for Chapter’s new Associate Artist Programme, Peilot, and this production will be the first supported tour from the scheme.
Meltem Arikan (Writer), Memet Ali Alabora (Director and Actor) and Pınar Öğün have worked together on various projects in Turkey since 2009. This is the first play by the main creative team in Wales. Their last play Mi Minor was accused by Turkish government officials and pro-government media of being the “rehearsal” for the 2013 Gezi Park protests in Istanbul. The resulting smear campaign forced them to leave the country and start living in Wales.
Director of Be Aware Productions and performer in Enough is Enough, Pınar Öğün said;
“It’s a real pleasure for us as a company to be travelling Wales with this production. Since arriving in Cardiff over three years ago we have had such a warm welcome and we have met a great deal of wonderful people. We are really excited about this production – it’s challenging and it’s daring but it’s also fun and will make the audience think differently we hope. We can’t wait to get going!”
The company’s first production was a short film entitled Exhibit, which has won several awards and has been selected to be shown at festivals around the world.
Tickets for Enough is Enough can be found online: http://www.enoughisenough-theplay.com/
Enough is Enough tour dates
09.02.17 Taibach Rugby Club, Port Talbot
10.02.17 The Arts Wing, Swansea
11.02.17 The Queen's Hall, Narberth
12.02.17 The Parrot, Carmarthen
15.02.17 Ebbw Vale Institute
16.02.17 Con Club, Aberdare
17.02.17 Theatr Soar, Merthyr Tudfil
18.02.17 Memo, Newbridge
19.02.17 Clwb y Bont, Pontypridd
08.04.17 Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff
- Shout it all out sessions after every performance
Tickets: http://www.enoughisenough-theplay.com/
