Who is Gorkem Acaroglu?
I am an Australian based theatre director and performance maker, passionate about work that tests the borders of form and content, the human and non-human, the fictional and real. I’ve made work with robots, avatars, works that take 24 hours across a city, works that document hidden perspectives of a place, a story or any other living gem. I ultimately love to create theatre with great actors and dynamic texts and often do this with my company, Metanoia Theatre.
What would you do differently to what you do now?
Carpentry. Make things with my hands. Live in a hut on the beach in a constantly sunny climate.
Who inspires you and why?
People who take risks. People who aren’t afraid. People who stand up. People that hear.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
I still have a belief that theatre can make a difference in the world. It has a very unique capacity to engage our imaginations intellectually, viscerally and spiritually. And like all art, it has the capacity to make time stand still.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
My father’s family has a summerhouse on a small Turkish island that has no cars, no tourists, cherry orchards and a beach.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?
Usually I take them out of Melbourne to Daylesford area. The countryside is beautiful there.
What are you currently reading?
I just finished the incredible true story that inspired the amazing UK theatre company Complicite to make the show, The Encounter that was on at the Malthouse recently. I couldn’t get enough of the show, so I read the book. The story is about an American photographer who becomes lost in the Amazon jungle and ends up living with the Mayoruna or cat people, but in fact its more than that – it’s about time and human beings’ relationship to it and an incredible reflection on our complicated contemporary lives.
What are you currently listening to?
I’ve just rediscovered Lenny Kravitz and Frank Sinatra! Oldies but goodies.
Happiness is?
Presence.
What does the future hold for you?
Mystery.
Gorkem is directing the Australian premiere of Claudio Tolcachir’s award-winning eccentric and sardonic comedy, The Omission of the Coleman Family at the Metanoia Theatre: 12 – 22 April, as part of the 2017 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. For more information, visit: www.metanoiatheatre.com or www.comedyfestival.com.au for details.
Image: Gorkem Acaroglu (supplied)