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"In this city, stirred with noises superfluous most of the time, lives a man who is doing what he has decided to do in a silent but determined way, in such a manner to be an adventure by itself. A few weeks ago Nadi Güler performed one of his shows once again, which he calls performance, but which lies in the fringe of and forces the borderline separating performance from drama in my opinion, or what he affectionately names a suggestion of performance, entitled 'Terzi Ali Beyle Biçki Dikis Kurslari' (Needlework and Dress-Making Courses with Mr. Ali the Tailor)."
(Excerpt from an article by Fatih Özgüven published in daily newspaper Radikal on 29.10.2000).
"Picture a very small tailor's shop, moistened by the steam of an iron, where remnants of stiffening, clothes and yarns are scattered on the floor. Then try to remember the last time you called at a tailor's shop to have something sewn. I think those of you aged 20 to 35 do not even have a tailor's shop experience. When we call, if ever, at one of those small and warm tailor's shops, it is just for having a miracle of the ready-to-wear fashion sector repaired. In our times, when the small-scale artisans are about to extinct, tailor's shops are just one side of the coin. What about the others?... This is precisely what Nadi Güler suggests to us. In other words, he pulls Mr. Ali, the Tailor the way he is away from his realm and carries him to another realm. This time theatre goers stand in for the tailor's customers. In fact he turns the spectators into a dynamic of the content to create a workshop in the true sense of the word. The spectator-customer chooses one of the fabrics displayed on the stage, has a fitting, takes the clothing tailor-made for himself/herself, and leaves. The artisan-actor is made to interact with the customer-spectator at all times to preserve the dynamism."
(Excerpt from an article by Esra Ali Çavusoglu published in daily newspaper Cumhuriyet on 24.10.2000).
"...it is reported that many people mistook the performance for a real needlework and dress-making course and called Dulcinea. Naturally, you can learn one thing or two by listening to or watching Mr. Ali at work. However, it is not a course as you will see if you go to the performance. The plot starts and ends with Mr. Ali who is a man of his kind."
(Excerpt from an article by Yesim Tabak published in daily newspaper Sabah on 22.10.2000).
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"I grew up in Kirsehir. At age ten I was made an apprentice of Zeynel, the master tailor. Then they sent me to Kirikkale. I made collars, shirt sleeves and repair work. It became my profession. Then I carried it on at Beyoglu. This time I was making dresses, suits, trousers, jackets, shirts, whatever the customers ordered. They were choosing a pattern, and I was making it."
Mr. Ali the Tailor.
"Some years ago I noticed that what old Ali was making was more than tailor-made clothing. He was chatting, sharing a joke with you, serving some things to you. In addition to making and delivering clothing, he was establishing daily communication with you and differentiating the relationship between you and what you intended to wear. If the clothing was not exactly what you wanted, he could have persuaded you."
Nadi Güler
"Old Ali, who has a tailor's shop at 19 Danismen Street in Beyoglu district of Istanbul, runs a family business with his children. If you call at the shop of that old artisan who can't help narrating the good old days of Beyoglu, you would witness this man's resistance against the changing times, which he accomplishes by narrating stories for you to listen while you enjoy a cup of tea he has served, by turning craftsmanship into an art."
(Excerpt from an article by Aysun Koç published in the magazine ZIP dated October 12 to 18, 2000).
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