Osman Ferhan Şensoy, the legendary name of Turkish theater, was born on February 26, 1951 in Samsun. His mother, a primary school teacher, and his father, a merchant, were the mayor of Çarşamba. The artist drew attention with his interest in literature since his childhood. His first stories and poems were published in Yeni Ufuklar and Soyut magazines when he was only 18 years old.
The first steps of his artistic life were taken with the sketches written at Devekuşu Kabare in 1970. Then, he appeared on the theater stage with his professional acting experience.
Ferhan Şensoy studied theater in France and Canada. He worked with masters such as Jerome Savary and Andre-Louis Perinetti. He won the "Best Foreign Writer" award with "Ce Fou De Gogol", which he played in Montreal. He also directed the musical "Harem Qui Rit". Returning to Türkiye in 1975, Şensoy took part in the Ali Poyrazoğlu Theater and started writing plays. He showed himself in this field by starting to write television sketches.
The artist acted at the Nisa Serezli - Tolga Aşkıner Theatre. He also wrote various sketches for TRT and Devekuşu Kabare Theatre. His first book, "Kazancı Yokuşu", was published in 1978. In the same year, he starred in his first film experience, "He Who Doesn't Beat His Daughter, Beats His Index". He also staged and directed the play "İdi Amin Avantadan Lavanta" at the Anyamanya Kumpanya Theatre, which he founded.
The television series "Our Class", written by Şensoy, was banned by TRT after the second episode. The removal of the series on the grounds that it showed the moral values of teachers as inferior led to controversy. However, "Our Class" was later staged at Ali Poyrazoğlu Theatre. The TV series "Evdekiler" and "Giyim Kuşam Dünyası", in which Şensoy participated as an actor, were also taken off the air for similar reasons.
Ferhan Şensoy's most well-known play, "Ferhangi Şeyler", has been staged continuously since 1987. This play, which is thought to be the inspiration for stand-up comedies, is described by Şensoy as "They may have been influenced by Ferhangi Şeyler, but Ferhangi Şeyler is not a stand-up." It is explained as follows.
Şensoy, who took over the Ortaoyuncuları Kavuğu from Kel Hasan Efendi from Münir Özkul, handed over this tradition to Rasim Öztekin. Şensoy, who gives a share of the revenue of each of his plays to those who contribute to his plays, has also gained a unique financial place in Turkish theatre.
He is a Turkish theatre, cinema and television actor, writer of novels, essays, diaries, theater plays, television series and feature films, and the founder of Ortaoyuncular theater group. His one-man play, Ferhangi Şeyler, which is the inspiration for the stand-up style performed in Türkiye, is his most well-known play.
He took over Ortaoyuncuları Kavuğu from Münir Özkul, which has survived from Kel Hasan Efendi to the present day. Şensoy Kavuğu, who made great contributions to Turkish theatre, handed it over to Rasim Öztekin in 2016.
Şensoy married actress Derya Baykal in 1980. From this marriage, they had two daughters, Müjgan Ferhan Şensoy, born in 1989, and Neriman Derya Şensoy, born in 1990. The couple's marriage ended in 2004.
He died at around 02:30 on August 31, 2021, at the age of 70, at Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, where he had been receiving treatment for a while, due to serious cardiovascular diseases and respiratory failure.
Productions in which he took part
He took part in 39 productions in total; 12 of the most well-known are listed.
- Uncle Show (2021)
- Works Powers (2012) — Let's assume İsmail
- Sorry (2005) — İbrahim
- Fairy Tale Inspector (2013)
- And the curtain! (2016)
- Suppose Ismail (1986) — Ismail
- The Great Loneliness (1990)
- Ferhangi Şeyler (1993)
- Vagabond and His Journeyman (1995) — Empty
- Tired Matador (1991)
- I'm Glad I Did It (2020)
- Goodbye Godot (1992) — Kavuklu
Production and imprint information was taken from TMDB.
