Turkey - “First Lady”

Welcome to the International Voices Project Fall Festival 2026 for our 16th year!

In collaboration with Instituto Cervantes Chicago

Start time 6pm

Free Event!

“First Lady” | Turkey

October 6th, 2026

Written by Sedef Ecer

Translated by Amelia Parenteau

Directed by Anna C. Bahow

Synopsis

First Lady is a satirical romp through the last vestiges of power for a dictator’s wife in a crumbling banana republic. Originally written in French by Sedef Ecer, First Lady premiered in 2016 in France as a coproduction between the Théâtre du Peuple and the Opéra de Metz, directed by Vincent Goethals, and was published in French in 2016 in L’Avant-Scène Magazine. Amelia Parenteau translated First Lady into English in 2019, and Pittsburgh International Classic Theatre (PICT) produced its English-language premiere in Pittsburgh in October 2025.

First Lady takes place in an imaginary country run by an old, cowardly dictator. The titular First Lady is on vacation in her summer palace, far from the capital and her husband, the President, when protests take over the streets and spread throughout the country. As the situation worsens, the President escapes, so the Minister of Propaganda decides the First Lady will have to reassure the public. Live on national television, she speaks about her fight for human rights, her luxurious lifestyle, and her palace’s zoo, which shelters rare animals. Gradually, as the protests near the summer palace, the First Lady becomes obsessed with finding a way to escape while still saving her gold bars, master paintings, precious jewelry, and compromising documents. Only her Chief of Staff, Personal Advisor, and the animals in the zoo remain at the palace with her to witness her demise. This tragically timely play speaks to the delusive nature of power, corruption, and cronyism in a scathing, hilarious critique of this liminal moment in global politics.