The Trash Monster

Karagöz is a traditional character in Turkish puppet theater who bears many similarities to our own Kasperl. Karagöz is a cheerful, simple, yet witty and cunning man of the people. He is cheeky, always in a good mood, and regularly gets into trouble when he lets his neighbor Hacivat talk him into his shady schemes.

Cengiz Özek is Turkey’s most famous Karagöz puppeteer. He lives in Istanbul and shares the following story with us – in the Trash Monster, we learn what happens when you throw your trash into the water.

Hacivat wants to go fishing with Karagöz, but Karagöz refuses. So Hacivat goes fishing right next to Karagöz’s house. Annoyed by Hacivat’s presence, Karagöz starts throwing his trash into the water, so that Hacivat will only catch trash instead of fish. What Hacivat doesn’t realize is that the Trash Monster is lurking in the depths of the water, precisely where the trash lands. As a punishment, the trash monster devours Karagöz. The audience, especially our younger viewers, will be thoroughly delighted to see how the two must now battle the Trash Monster.