To borrow a phrase from footballing parlance, Gelin is a play of two halves.
First, we have an archetypal farce of escalating confusion and perturbation, stemming from mistaken identity and obfuscation with deftly delivered humour and authentic, well-executed scenario building.
The second half changes gear and takes on a more thoughtful, considered hue. Emphasis is given to the structural dynamics of the relationships between mother and daughter, best friends and the consequences of trying to assimilate modern living and personal ambition within the expectations of a more traditional social and economic framework.
Oh, and it also lasts 90 minutes.
Gelin (meaning “bride” in Turkish) is a lively reinterpretation of the 1859 classic comedy by Ibrahim Şinasi about the ramifications and unanticipated outcomes of arranged marriage, swapping the setting from the 19th-century Ottoman Empire to 21st-century multicultural London.
The key themes from Şinasi’s original piece, based largely upon the repercussions of generational clashes, changing gender norms, and shifting cultural values and expectations, are maintained but given a new impetus and resonance by the narrative being freshly reframed, incorporating today’s pop culture, cosmopolitan change and the omnipotence of digital-led dating and relationship building.
The premise of Gelin is simple. When her overbearing mother, Sevim, desperate for her daughter to be married, settled and socially respectable, arranges a marriage that does not fit into her ambitions and aspirations, 29-year-old Aylin sends her best friend, Yaz, in her place on the crucial first date to smooth things over. This plan spectacularly backfires when Yaz falls in love with the extremely eligible Emre, a kind, thoughtful University English Literature lecturer, an attraction which is mutual, and serves as the catalyst for the turbulent confusion and escalating agitation to come.
The audience are seated at small tables, with the programme flyer cleverly designed as a wedding invitation. There are some thoughtful and well-conceived touches in this production.
The opening sequence, where Sevim considers the various CVs of prospective marriage partners handed to her by the front tables of the audience, is funny and sets the pace for a breathless first half, where the accelerating tensions of the arranged date with potential future husband Emre, (identified by Sevim as definitely “the one”) are nicely juxtaposed with Aylin’s scheming and plotting to get out of the knotty problem caused by her mother’s interference, persuading Yaz to go on the date instead, thereby freeing up Aylin to pursue her business ideas without the complication of any emotional entanglements.
There are strong performances to be enjoyed in this play.
Duru Agirbas, who is also co-producer of the show, captures the essence of the overbearing Sevim well, always with an eye on what other people think, and determined to integrate her daughter into the norms and values of the traditional society which she holds in such esteem. There is always, though, the sense that Sevim, at heart, cares most deeply about Aylin and her happiness, and is eventually reconciled to the ultimate importance of this aspect of the relationship between mother and daughter.
Gunes Soysal, as Aylin, thoughtfully and accurately portrays the challenge of reconciling her own ambitions and requirements involved in forging a career in modern London with her exasperation at the (to her) outmoded concepts and values exhibited by her mother. Yet, beneath it all, there is a need to be accepted as a “good daughter,” and the development of the closer rapprochement that occurs between Aylin and her mother is well and sensitively tracked in the second half of the play.
Elif Gulalp’s characterisation of Yaz, Aylin’s best and most loyal friend, is skilfully delivered. The nervous awkwardness which she displays in her initial meeting with Emre on their date is very well communicated, whilst the growing realisation that her feelings for him is going to cause a rupture in her friendship with Aylin is thoughtfully and convincingly depicted.
Emre (Pedro Millan Duke), as the friendly, polite and charming date/future husband, gives a very pleasing cameo performance. It would have been easy to fall into the simplistic caricature of the “nice guy” here, but there is more to him than that; his first date shyness, prefaced by hints of a difficult relationship with his own mother, and the anguished bewilderment in the climactic wedding scene give depth and interest to the portrayal.
There are some issues that would help tighten the production. The lighting set was a little uneven, which meant that the characters were occasionally in the shadows, especially for dialogue delivered stage right.
Sevim seemed too young and vibrant to be the middle-aged matriarch that the plot required. Changes to makeup, posture and costume would have given a greater emphasis to the essential differential needed between mother and daughter.
Whilst there may be a commercial need for an interval in terms of encouraging the audience to go to the bar, in artistic terms, its insertion in a piece of around ninety minutes felt unnecessary and restrictive in the development of the plot. The cast had to reset and rebuild the pace and intensity of the narrative after the break, which disrupted the overall flow of the piece.
Whilst the basic premise of the play is relatively undemanding, and it can be argued that some elements of the plot are too clearly signalled and too neatly shoehorned into the narrative, (notably the mother-daughter-best friend rapprochement at the business event run by Aylin at the end), Gelin is both a charming and honest attempt to explore the familial and social complexities of different cultural relationships, the importance of the enduring bonds of friendship to deliver reconciliation, and the empowerment of women to assert their independence and find their own ways to navigate the pressures of the modern world, with an unspoken acknowledgement that ‘twas ever thus.
This is a production with a lot of heart and warmth.
Review by Johnny Oxford
Gunes Soysal: Aylin
Elif Gulalp: Yaz
Duru Agirbas: Sevim
Pedro Millan Duke: Emre
Director: Erica Rosa Lima
Assistant Directors: Christy Cheung and Nejla Yasar
Writer: Estelle Warner
Co-producers: Duru Agirbas and Nejla Yasar
Set Designer: Mingchi Yan
Costume Designer: Zeynep Agirbas
GELIN
Canal Café Theatre
31 January and 1 February 2026
