Mehmet Ergen was appointed to the General Art Director position of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) City Theatre. Ergen staged plays in various countries and is the founder of many theaters. He also received the Afife Jale, Time Out and Peter Brook Empty Space awards.
Born in Istanbul, Ergen went to London in 1988 after finishing his theatre education at Bilsak. He has acted and directed in London for over 30 years. He translated many contemporary and classic plays to Turkish. Furthermore, he worked as a professor at many universities in Turkey and abroad.
Ergen was the founder, producer and general art director of Arcola Theatre, Grimeborn Opera Festival Battersea Arts Centre and the Southwark playhouse. He also worked as a jury member and as a text consultant at the BBC and the Royal Court Theatre.
He has staged many plays in prestigious venues, such as New Wolsey Theater, Quays Theater, The Lowry, Marlowe Theater, Grand Opera House, Alhambra Theater, Oxford Playhouse and Liverpool Playhouse in England; The Dublin Olympia Theater and Cork Opera House in Ireland; Theater Un der Ruhr, Dortmund Theater, Hagen Theater, Ballroom Neusstrasse in Germany; and International Alcala Theater Festival in Spain. Mehmet Ergen also staged and produced plays in Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Israel and Canada. Â
In Turkey, he was the founder and the artistic director of the Akbank Art Center and the Talimhane Theatre. He worked as the artistic director of the Nilufer Art Theatre. In addition, he was the founder and the artistic director of the first and most comprehensive playwriting project titled Write a Play (Oyun Yaz). His plays and adaptations titled Fiddler on the Roof, La Vérité and It Felt Empty When the Heart Went at First But It Is Alright Now are still being staged at Zorlu PSM. İzmit Şehir Tiyatrosu, Eskişehir Şehir Tiyatrosu, Bakırköy Belediye Tiyatroları, BKM, Kenter Tiyatrosu and Akbank Sanat are some of the theatres, where Ergen’s plays can be seen.
