(Smuggled) Tea Time Performance

(Smuggled) Tea Time! = (Kaçak) Çay Saati! = Saetê Çayê (qachax)!
Smuggled (Eng) = kaçak (Tr) = qachax (Krd) = smuggled / fugitive / runaway / leak / illegal.

(Smuggled) Tea Time performance is a playful mise-en–abîme of the impossible collaboration between a Turkish and a Kurdish artist within the complex sociopolitical landscape of Turkey. Fatih Gençkal and Mustafa Zeren embark on an extraordinary journey of making a dance performance together despite the power inequalities and economic struggles that permeate their lives.

Their curiosity in each other’s movements and imaginations rubs against the inertia of physical and creative distances. While they gleefully bump into the difficulties of collective creation as well as the fraught rules of choreography, will they keep the taste of friendship in their tea together? With gripping courage and transparency, Gençkal and Zeren explore the intricacies and pitfalls of bridging distinct biographies and heritages between İstanbul and Diyarbakır, unashamed of their blind spots along the way.

Masterfully switching between personal insights and critical jabs at the local and global art scene, (Smuggled) Tea time performance confers the vulnerability, responsibility, and determination of two men from the opposite corners of the country as they battle against the overwhelming burdens of making and sharing dance in Turkey today.

Fatih Gençkal is an artist, curator, and cultural manager working at the intersection of text, performance, and choreography. He co-founded Studio 4 Istanbul, a company creating work for theater and film, and Köşe, a performance space in Istanbul's Yeldeğirmeni neighborhood. His projects explore live experiences across disciplines with A Corner in the World and tibia x fibula.

Fatih's work has been presented at renowned venues such as Theater Freiburg, TheaterFormen, Julidans, Amsterdam Fringe Festival, PS122, and the Istanbul Theater Festival. He has collaborated with companies including garajistanbul, TalDans, and the Istanbul State Theater.

A former resident co-curator at bomontiada ALT and performance curator at Darağaç, Fatih has also taught at institutions like Haliç University and Eskişehir University. He is a recipient of several awards, including the Direklerarası New Space Manager Award and the New Theater Magazine Contribution to Turkish Language Award.

He holds a BA in Political Science from Marmara University, an MFA in Acting from CUNY Brooklyn College, and an MFA in Contemporary Dance from Mimar Sinan University. Fatih is currently involved with multiple cultural advisory committees, including Spaces of Culture and the FANAK Fund.