Flag
Synopsis and Significance
Flag, a crime drama written by Berkun Oya, is the tragic story of the decline of a family because of homicide. The family consists of elderly mother and father, their two sons and daughters-in-law; and the names of the characters are not mentioned. The play opens with the homecoming of one of their sons with some terrible news that ruins everything. He murdered his wife and wants to bury her in the garden of their family house. The mother wants to help him, yet the father is more strict with his son. They wait for the older brother who will bring the body, but a police officer visits the house before him. After this epilog, the first episode starts with a flashback of three days ago and focuses on the things that happened until the murder is committed. At the end of this first episode, it is figured out that the wife who is supposed to be dead is actually alive. The second episode opens with a dialog in between her and the older brother who is abandoned by his wife and then gives himself to drink. While they are talking about the younger brother, the talk turns into a bloodletting discussion that results in murdering her. This last episode answers the question of whether this time the woman is dead or not.
Playwright’s Country of Origin
TURKEY
Production History
Feb. 2009, by Krek Theater, Garajistanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
May. 2011, by Krek Theater, Santralistanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
Feb. 2012, by Krek Theatre, Theater an der Ruhr /Szene Istanbul Festival, Mulheim, Germany.
The Seeson of 2017-2018, by Istanbul State Theater, Istanbul, Turkey.
1-The word “flag” is used only once in the play as a representation of non-communication. During one of the shows on tour in Turkey, in a small town named Ergene in the west side of Turkey, most of the audience members expected a play celebrating the nation in respect of the title “Flag”, and they left the performance because it is about violence against women, masculinity, and non-communication. Culture and art association president of the town at the time apologized to the citizens for the play’s inappropriate content.
2- The play Flag is adapted to the eight-episode miniseries for BluTV, one of the Turkish online streaming services like Netflix, under the name of Innocent in 2017. It is Turkey’s first-ever TV series to be streamed online.
Name of the Playwright in English
Year of Writing
Year of the First Staging