Veteran theater and film actor Genco Erkal, who had been battling cancer for a while, died at the age of 86.

 

WHO WAS GENCO ERKAL?

 

Genco Erkal was born on March 28, 1938 in Istanbul. Since 1959, he worked as an actor and director in many theater companies. He founded the Dostlar Theater in 1969.

 

In 1965, he adapted Russian writer Nikolay Gogol's story “Diary of a Madman” to the theater and staged it as the first one-man play based on a western text in Turkey. This work, which he staged with 3 different interpretations over the years, became synonymous with him. Erkal became known as the master of one-man plays.

 

Erkal adapted the works of many artists from Aziz Nesin to Haldun Taner, from Nâzım Hikmet to Behiç Ak and Yaşar Kemal.

 

He performed many works as a narrator in symphonic concerts.

 

In cinema, he won the “Golden Orange” twice at the Antalya Film Festival for “Best Actor” for the films At in 1982 and Interest Offense in 1983.