― 9 сентября 2026 г.

Ziya Gökalp’s legacy reaches out to the Balkans with the play ‘The Vision of a Brave Man’

The play “The Vision of a Brave Man” staged by the Directorate General of State Theatres of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will be performed in a tour covering North Macedonia and Kosovo to mark the 150th anniversary of Ziya Gökalp’s birthday. 

Ahead of the tour, a press conference was held in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia to introduce the play “The Vision of a Brave Man” which recounts the life and intellectual world of Ziya Gökalp, one of the leading intellectuals of the Turkic World 

The press conference, held at the Yunus Emre Institute (YEE) in Skopje, was attended by Mr. Sayit Yusuf, the Deputy Secretary General of the International Organisation of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), Dr. Fatih Şahbaz, the General Manager of Halkbank AD in Skopje, Dr. Yunus Dilber, the Coordinator of the Yunus Emre Institute in Skopje, the author of the play, Derya Özer and Murat Kesim, an actor from the Ankara State Theatre who portrays Ziya Gökalp, along with representatives from the Macedonian Radio and Television and local press media representatives of the country.

In the meeting, information was provided on the play’s content as well as on the calendar of the tour while it was also highlighted that this will be the first time the play will be performed outside Türkiye.

Prepared within the framework of the initiative to declare 2026 the ‘Year of Commemoration of Ziya Gökalp’ upon proposal of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye and unanimous decision of the Permanent Council of TURKSOY, the play introduces the understanding of culture, language, nation and identity of the famous author to the audience.

Written by Derya Özer and directed by Cem Sel, the play which explores Gökalp’s evolution from his childhood years to the founding of the Republic also sheds light upon the collective memory of society, its will to exist and its quest for ideals through the life of an intellectual.

First performance in Gostivar

Organised in cooperation of the Directorate General of State Theatres with TURKSOY and the Yunus Emre Institute with the support of the Union of Turkish Civil Society Organisations in North Macedonia (MATUSITEB), the Turkish Theatre in Skopje and Halkbank, the tour will start on September 9th, 2026 in the city of Gostivar.

Following this first performance, which will take place at 7.00 pm at the Gostivar Cultural Centre, artists will take the scene at the Skopje Comedy Theatre at 8.00 pm on September 10th, 2026.

The final stop on the tour will be the city of Prizren in Kosovo where the play will be staged as the closing performance of the 2nd International Turkish Theatre Festival of Prizren to be held at the Cemali Berişa Cultural Centre on September 13th, 2026 at 8.00 pm.

Dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birthday of Ziya Gökalp, the tour aims not only at introducing the renowned author’s cultural legacy to communities and people of the Balkans but also to further strengthening cultural ties between Türkiye and the Balkans.