INTO THE MUNICIPAL THEATERS

It's pretty hard to tell the life of a master of the spoken word. (Maybe if I had a white handkerchief it would be easier.) Orhan Boran, a true master of the genre, came into the world in Istanbul in 1928 as the son of Hikmet Boran, a graduate of the medical college. At the age of ten Orhan enrolled at the famed Galatasaray High School, where he was a boarder even on weekends. His first stage experience came when he was still at Galatasaray as he took part in school drama productions. The plays were directed by Necdet Mahfi Ayral, a fine actor with the Municipal Theaters, and Boran had the leading role. His stage career was launched when he graduated from high school in 1946. He recounts those days as follows: "World War Two had only just ended. Turkey was in a muddle, and it was a problem finding work. My father had died a year before, and I had to find a job, but it wasn't easy. Necdet Mahfi Ayral must have spotted some sort of talent in me, for he said, 'Let me introduce you to Muhsin Ertugrul.