Okan Bayülgen quits the screen: 'I no longer have a sense of satisfaction'

Participating in the event held at the Harbiye Muhsin Ertuğrul Stage, Okan Bayülgen stated that he chose theater, a field that is difficult to work and struggle in, saying, "People become philosophers when they get old. I was either going to be a philosopher like them or do something in the art I was trained in, so I am doing theater. Television, which we once said was killing cinema and theater, no longer has such power. I no longer have the same satisfaction in broadcasting. I made long programs for 30 years."

Bayülgen stated that there has been an increase in the rate of people going to the theater on their own following the Covid-19 pandemic.

'YOU CANNOT FIND SOMEONE LIKE THIS'

The artist, who noted that he started his career as the youngest director at the State Theatres, said, "At that time, I don't know if it was due to regulations or tradition. Our manager at the time wanted his name written as the director, saying it would be bad in terms of balances. I wasn't offended at all. He said, 'Don't come to the rehearsals, you direct the play.'"

"My goal was to accomplish something. I accepted it with pleasure. It didn't matter if my name was written on the poster in one way or another. You cannot find someone like this," he assessed.

Okan Bayülgen said that what he saw while living in France pushed him to become an actor, stating, "There were street theaters. I was very influenced by the atmosphere. I told this story when I was entering the conservatory. The jury found it very sincere. Everyone was making claims like 'Let's save the theater.' It seemed very sincere to them that I said this."

Noting that they are making a play to be staged with dialogue and that writing with a team is productive because they specifically choose historical or fantastic characters, the artist stated that he started writing plays with a small team.

'WE LEARNED A LOT IN THE DISCUSSIONS'

Successful actor Bayülgen underlined that changes were made over time in the play Richard, saying, "We invite back those who watched the first four plays. If they say they came to the first play in the post-show talks, we tell them to watch it again. Despite being told it is incomprehensible, we are not there to explain it in the post-show talks. We chat with the audience. We learned a lot in those discussions. We left grateful every time. We also learned a lot from the audience," he expressed.

Touching on the preparations for the "Dracula" play, which he wrote, directed, and will star in, the artist said, "By preserving Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' and sending greetings to it, we are carrying it 77 years into the future. We are also taking it 50 years back from today. Dracula makes assumptions about art production in those years and about the future. When you watch Dracula in the autumn, you will be able to taste these conversations there."