The Cry of the Reed by Sinan Unel - 7th Boston Turkish Film Festival - 7. Boston Turk Film Festivali

THE CRY OF THE REED

Ney'in Yakarisi

World Premiere

March 28 - May 3, 2008 Official opening: April 9, 2008 Wimberly Theatre
Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA 527 Tremont Street, Boston Click here for more information

Written by Sinan Unel

Directed by Daniel Goldstein

About the Play:

Turkish-American photo-journalist Sevgi Okan defies her editors to revisit war-torn Iraq. Though intent on staying safe while pursuing the next big story, Sevgi and her Canadian colleague are detained by insurgents who question their motives, their faith, and their identities. Determined to rescue both Sevgi and their failing relationship, her boyfriend Josh seeks out Sevgi’s estranged mother Ayla, living in Turkey as a devout and wordly Sufi teacher with thousands of followers. As Sevgi fights for her freedom, trying to befriend her captors while bombs fall around them, Josh examines his own life. As his friendship with Ayla and her loyal servant deepens, they are joined in their mutual desire to save Sevgi. A phone call from daughter to mother is all that stands between certain death and reconciliation.

About the Turkish Playwright and Star:

Sinan Ünel

Massachusetts-based playwright Sinan Ünel, who grew up in Turkey, has had his plays produced in New York, Boston, New Haven, Los Angeles, London, Germany, and Austria. A member of the first class of Huntington Playwriting Fellows, Ünel’s plays Pathétique and The Cry of the Reed were featured in previous Breaking Ground Festivals. He is the winner of the New England Theatre Conference’s John Gassner Memorial Award, the Daryl Roth Creative Spirit Award, and the New York-based Lark Play Development Center’s New Play Award. His other plays include Pera Palas, Tolstoy's Den, Thalassa My Heart, and The Three of Cups.

Cigdem Onat

Cigdem Onat plays the role of Ayla in The Cry of the Reed. She acts, directs, and teaches in the United States and in her native Turkey. Presently she teaches and directs at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her most recent performance was Beckett’s Happy Days, in Istanbul in May 2006, a Turkish-American production for the International Istanbul Theatre Festival and World Theatre Olympics.