DÉJÀ VU KABARET

First Performed

July 20, 2023

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"No more violence."

Deep in the depths below the Nomad Park, a lonely performer prepares her act. Beneath the earth and amidst the soil, a late night cabaret show becomes both a haven and a battlefield as its cast of performers face off against a fascist government who will stop at nothing to silence their voices.

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Déjà Vu Kabaret is true story based on events that took place at the 2013 environmental protests in Istanbul, Turkey. The Gezi Park Protests quickly escalated into an influential and vital revolution within modern Turkish history. The play is set against increasing police violence as well as a culture dictated by state-run news platforms that spread propaganda and censored the protests. In response to these events, activists established a cabaret beneath the park where artists would perform to challenge the laws and policies being enacted. This led to immediate plans from the authorities to tear down the cabaret, leading to the tragic deaths of performers and audience one June evening in 2013.

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Déjà Vu Kabaret is a play that challenges where and when you can be politically abstinent, the privilege associated with that choice, and a call to audiences to stand against injustice in their communities and beyond.

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Performed and created for the historic Red Lion, Leytonstone — this site-specific immersive protest musical takes place across five different rooms in order to take the audiences on a journey to unveil the events that took place at Gezi Park on June 15th, 2013.