Based on real-life recorded interviews and developed under an intricate improvisational process, this multimedia experience portrays the stories of two musicians.

The Country and the Happiness is an international, multiracial theatrical event, where piano, jazz, and rap sounds all coexist together on stage and become the creative vehicle through which the characters talk about music, life, success, faith, hope, and disappointment.

It all leads up to one main question: How can one be happy and find pure artistic expression in a life full of struggles?

Onur Karaoglu is originally from Istanbul and is the founder and Artistic Director of the non-profit Studio 4 Istanbul, an independent company that produces cinematic and theatrical works and searches for new methods of expression in both disciplines. Columbia University directing credits include his own adaptation of Uncle Vanya, Emperor Jones and Revolution Trilogy (an adaptation of Brecht, Genet and Fassbinder texts). His theatre and film works have been featured in worldwide festivals over fifteen countries including the Netherlands, Canada, Korea and Australia. He holds a B.A. in Sociology and Film Studies from Bogazici University in Turkey.

Photos by Carol Rosegg.

Click here to download the press release.
Click here to download the production program.