Play Mem û Zîn cancelled by Cizre District Governor

The director of the play, Mirza Metin, said that it stems from an intolerance towards Kurdish and added: “This is the attitude and mentality of all municipalities in the region, directed by trustees, towards Kurdish works.”

The Kurdish play Mem û Zin, which Şermola Theater planned to perform at the Cizre Municipality Cultural Center in Cizre, province of Şırnak on 12 March was cancelled by the Cizre District Governor’s Office without any justification.

Şermola Theater announced the cancellation of the play with the following statement: “Our play Mem û Zîn was cancelled by the Cizre District Governorship without any justification. Preparations began days ago for the performance of our play Mem û Zîn, which is planned to be played at the Cizre Municipality Cultural Center on Saturday, 12 March, posters and brochures were sent to Cizre, social media promotions were made with the support of many institutions, invitations were delivered, and on 4 March 2022, the hall was closed. The rent has been deposited into the municipality’s account.

We were informed that the play was cancelled two days after the rent was paid (06.03.2022). Since its premiere on 3 November 2021, our play Mem û Zîn has made 13 performances in cities such as Batman, Diyarbakır, Urfa and Kızıltepe and has been very successful among people. Our play is a work that is equipped with mythological metaphors and promises its audience to watch a performative ritual narrative experience. The source text was Dengbêj Reso’s Mem û Zîn narrative.

‘This is the attitude towards everything Kurdish’

The director of the play, Mirza Metin, said that one of the main reasons for the cancellation stemmed from the existing trustee mentality and added: “We were not given any reason for the cancellation. However, we know that this is the attitude and mentality of all municipalities in the region directed by trustees towards Kurdish works. Wherever there is a work in Kurdish, they react by blocking it in this way.”