27-year-old Nadya Setvat, who moved to Wan from Urmia with her husband and two children, stages Kurdish puppet theater at home with her family. Nadya and her husband write scripts collaboratively, which their children Arjîn and Jiyar bring to life through voice and performance. The family also uploads their productions to social media, aiming to preserve a nearly lost art form.

 

Nadya Setvat, who was inspired by puppet shows she watched as a child, dreams of taking this theater back to the streets. She said: “I have always wanted to act in theater and cinema. In Eastern Kurdistan, I never had the opportunity. After moving here in 2016, my first goal was to engage in theater. We used to watch puppet shows on TV as children, and it made us very happy. Now, I want my children to experience the same joy while preserving Kurdish language and culture.”

 

Nadya Setvat explained that she and her husband prepare scripts, which their children then perform. She said: “When we started, the children were very interested. Puppetry fascinated them. We teach our children the scripts by heart and then perform. With limited resources, we record the shows on a phone and share them with other children. We want to reach as many children as possible, giving them content to learn and enjoy in their mother tongue. Puppet theater is rare, which makes this effort even more significant.”

 

PLANS TO TAKE PUPPET THEATER TO THE STREETS

 

The family plans to bring their performances to streets, neighborhoods, and villages. Nadya Setvat concluded: “We want to perform everywhere and then upload the shows to YouTube so children can watch in their own language and enjoy it. Through this project, we aim to preserve Kurdish, teach the language, and introduce children to cultural arts through theater. We have limited resources, but we hope to expand this work in the future.”

 

MA / Zeynep Durgut