Who is Haldun Dormen ? Marvelous Theater Artist

Haldun Dormen

Writer
Actor
Director

Birth

April 5, 1928
Mersin, Turkey

Education

Yale University – Theater Department

Biography

Haldun Dormen, an actor, director, and writer, was born on April 5, 1928, in Mersin, Turkey. His father, Sait Ömer Bey, was a businessman from Cyprus, and his mother, Nimet Rüştü Hanım, was the daughter of a pasha. Dormen completed his secondary education at Galatasaray High School (1943) and graduated from Robert College (1949) before earning a degree in theater from Yale University in 1952.

He began his theater career during his middle school years. After working in various theaters in the U.S., he returned to Turkey in 1954. His first stage performance was in the play Dial M for Murder at Küçük Sahne under the direction of Muhsin Ertuğrul, where he played a detective. After working with Ertuğrul for a year, he founded Cep Tiyatrosu in Beyoğlu alongside Erol Günaydın, Nisa Serezli, Metin Serezli, and Erol Keskin. In 1957, he established Dormen Theater in Feriköy, Istanbul, and staged Philip King’s comedy See How They Run. Later, he moved his theater to Küçük Sahne, where he opened with Eugene O'Neill’s Desire Under the Elms.

In 1962, Dormen moved his theater to Ses Tiyatrosu (formerly the French Theater) and continued his work until financial difficulties led to its closure in 1972. During this period, he staged important productions, including Irma la Douce (1961), Oliver! (1968), A Flea in Her Ear (1971), Yaygara (1970), and Istanbul Masalı (1971). With Istanbul Masalı, he participated in festivals in London and Rome in the same year.

Dormen directed two films: Bozuk Düzen (1966), starring Ekrem Bora and Belgin Doruk, and Güzel Bir Gün İçin (1967), featuring Müşfik Kenter, Nedret Güvenç, and Belgin Doruk. Both films won awards at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival in 1966 and 1967, respectively. Afterward, he left cinema and returned to theater.

During his tenure at Cep Tiyatrosu and Dormen Theater, he directed 75 plays and acted in 81 productions. In addition to his theater career, Dormen wrote scripts for over 100 radio and television productions. He also served as a lecturer at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Letters, worked as an art consultant for Yapı Kredi Sigorta, and wrote about theater and the arts for newspapers such as Milliyet (for eight years) and Hürriyet (for three years).

In 1959, he married public relations expert Betül Mardin, and they have one child.

Cemal Süreya once said about him:
"Despite all the great masters in Turkish theater, mime was limited to hand and facial gestures. Haldun Dormen introduced spine movement to the stage—spine, legs, and everything… As Jean-Louis Barrault put it, an 'anti-death' stance. (…) He brought appreciation. A true theater appreciation. He earned respect for theater while making it beloved."

Awards

• State Artist (Turkish Ministry of Culture, 1998)

• Honorary Doctorate in Science (Hacettepe University)

• Best Film (Altın Portakal Film Festival, 1966)

• Best Screenplay (Altın Portakal Film Festival, 1966)

• Best Comedy Film (Altın Portakal Film Festival, 1967)

Plays Directed

• Dün Gece Yolda Giderken Çok Komik Bir Şey Oldu

• Bu Oyun Başka Oyun

• Kantocu

• Papaz Kaçtı

• Lüküs Hayat

• Yukarda Biri Var

• Sokak Kızı İrma

• Şahane Düğün

• Nice Yıllara

• Zafer Madalyası

• Şahane Züğürtler

• Hisseli Harikalar Kumpanyası

Books

Plays

• Hisseli Harikalar Kumpanyası (1979)

• Tete ve Masal: Rüyalar Diyarı ( 2025 )

• Geceye Selam (1981)

• Şen Sazın Bülbülleri (1983)

Memoir

• Sürç-ü Lisan Ettikse (2003)

References

• Yurt Ansiklopedisi (Vol. 5, 1982)

• Cemal Süreya / 99 Yüz (1991)

• Cemal A. Kalyoncu / Saklı Hayatlar (2002) - Derin Gazeteciler (2002)

• Sefa Kaplan / Sürç-ü Lisan Ettikse - Tiradların En Güzeli (Hürriyet Keyif, July 27, 2003)

• Büyük Larousse (Vol. 6, p. 3330, 1986)

• Ana Britannica (Vol. 7, p. 439, 1987)

• www.dormentiyatrosu.com

• İhsan Işık / Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (2006)