Suzuki, best known among İstanbul theatergoers for his interpretation of “Ivanov” in the festival’s 15th edition, accepted the award from Professor Talat S. Halman in a ceremony ahead of his company’s presentation of “Elektra” at the Muhsin Ertuğrul Theater in Harbiye.The prolific Suzuki, who organized Japan’s first international theater festival -- the Toga Festival -- from 1982 through 1999, serves as a founding member of the International Committee of Theater Olympics since 1993 and of the BeSeTo (Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo) Theater Festival since 1994.
“Elektra,” Suzuki’s must-see interpretation of the classical text of Euripides through Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s early 20th century adaptations, incorporates various audio-visual techniques of traditional Japanese theater to represent Elektra’s fantasy of taking revenge from her mother.
The Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT) will also stage “Electra” on Thursday evening at the Muhsin Ertuğrul Theater. SCOT’s performances were part of a special program dedicated to Japanese theater in this year’s festival on the occasion of the 2010 Year of Japan in Turkey.
