By Heidi Trautmann

The Theatre Festival will have its last performance on Sunday September 30 with the ensemble of the Pera Theatre Company playing AH Smyrna – Beautiful Izmir by Nesrin Kazankaya. Nine theatre events in the month of September played by five theatre companies.

I have never seen such a run for tickets; before I could turn my head all tickets for all nine performances were gone. We received phone calls from people who thought we had a special line to the ticket office but there was nothing doing.

I am happy, happy for especially one reason, that is that some people will have to admit now that theatre is that what people want.

Luckily I got a ticket for the opening of the festival at the Near East University Atatürk Cultural Centre but not for the other evenings. I spoke to my friend Neriman Cahit who was lucky enough to have tickets for all events and she was really excited about all performances.

“Heidi, she said, you should have seen the crowd waiting in front of the theatre who had no tickets, many of them got the chance to sit on the stairs between the rows. Does this tell you something? We Cypriots love theatre. You should have seen Bertold Brecht, it was just amazing!”

I will try my luck for the last day’s performance and perhaps I’ll get some space on the stairs

squeezing in with the Cypriots who love theatre!