By Heidi Trautmann

130 employees have lost their jobs due to the irresponsible management of Nicosia Municipality and seven of them are members of the Theatre, their contracts have not been renewed. For the entire last theatre season Yaşar Ersoy, the mastermind, director and coordinator of the theatre and his entire company had to fight with endless problems but had dutifully brought their plays on stage to the end of the season.

I love this theatre company, have often been there for their plays, I attended rehearsals and saw performances for children, and although my knowledge in Turkish is not sufficient I could always understand the dialogues because of their excellent acting. They are professional theatre, they are the centre of our cultural life. I have spoken to most of them and have learnt how passionately they are involved in their work for the theatre. It is their home, they are a family. Some of them have been there from the very beginning, have retired but are still present every day, because they cannot live without the theatre.

Once the company has invited English speaking audience and set up a screen with the English script text for Harold Pinter’s Birthday Party and all of them confirmed how much they had enjoyed the play and a translation was not really needed.

It is not their first fight for existence and survival; already in the 80s they went onto the street and many theatre lovers with them, and they won and had their own building through the support of the mayor of Nicosia Mustafa Akıncı. Now, after 30 years of work and service to the cultural life in Cyprus, the existence of the company is again endangered.

As from today, the members of the company will stand in front of the municipality building and demonstrate their intention to fight for their rights and to fight for the preservation of culture.  This is not a matter of nationality, it is also to all of us to show solidarity. If you feel the same way, go and show your sympathy in front of the Nicosia municipality and/or express your feeling by writing to lefkosabelediyetiyatrosu@hotmail.com