Play hits the street in Turkey's Edirne after state denies permission

A play based on the work of Turkish poet Can Yücel has taken to the street in the northwestern province of Edirne, after a committee reviewing the script ruled to prevent it from being staged at the local Public Education Center?s theater. 

The play, titled ?Can,? was put on as an open-air performance on May 20, after Edirne mayor Recep Gürkan from the main opposition Republican People?s Party (CHP) recommended Saraçlar Street, a popular pedestrianized street in central Edirne. 

Edirne Youth Culture House, an independent art organization, had applied to the Edirne National Education Directorate to stage the play in the Public Education?s theater. The request was rejected by a reviewing committee made up of several local teachers, which decided that the content of the play would not be appropriate as it contained ?street slang? and included ?political elements.? 

Kemal Kocatürk, the director and only actor of ?Can,? a monologue, said the Edirne National Education Directorate rejected the application shortly after the Edirne Governor?s Office said it would not provide the hall.

However, despite official disapproval, the first street performance of the play attracted hundreds of locals.