The Nose

The Nose is a modern interpretation of Gogol’s story, adapted to Anatolian Solo theatre. Gregor is an ordinary immigrant civil servant working at the DMV in America. He is someone who has cut off all ties with people who speak his native language, doesn’t interact with anyone, and is withdrawn into himself. He is a simple, unremarkable person with ambitions, content with his own life. Gregor, who is the assistant branch manager at the DMV, dreams of one day becoming the manager of the department he works in. In the midst of this mundane life, one morning he encounters an extraordinary surprise. His nose, which has been in front of his eyes for 40 years, has disappeared. Even his nose has abandoned him. He will either have to live the rest of his life without a nose or embark on a journey to find it and put it back in its place.

Drawing from the Meddah (storyteller) tradition listed in UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage, Ayhan Hulagu rewrites the story and reconstructs it as a one-person narrative theater performance. He adapts a story written 200 years ago in Russia to today’s America and tells it through the eyes of an immigrant. The play reflects the existential struggles of a man facing absurd events, the relationships of immigrants in their own worlds, and the ups and downs of a man’s ambitions to climb the corporate ladder at work. Just like in the UNESCO list, the actor tells the whole story alone without using any set, costume, or makeup, embodying all the characters through voice and physical changes.

Hulagu carries Gogol’s immortal masterpiece, which has become a world classic, into the heart of a 700-year-old art form, presenting a liberating example of Anatolian theater to the American audience.