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Ayça Güçlüten’s novel Disco Ball portrays a female protagonist marginalized in countless ways by society. With its dazzling metaphor of a disco ball casting endless colors, the book compels readers to reflect on freedom, identity, and the precarious balance between reality and imagination.

With Disco Ball, Ayça Güçlüten poses a difficult question: who are you, and why have you remained silent? Both lyrical and uncompromising, the novel becomes a fierce protest against injustice and inequality, while immersing the reader in a voice that is raw, intimate, and unsettling.

Ayça Güçlüten’s Exceptional Encounters can be read as a bildungsroman, charting a journey of growth and self-discovery. Rich with layers of meaning, the novel offers multiple interpretations, rewarding readers with both intellectual depth and emotional resonance.

From beginning to end, Gönül Tufan captivates with its raw portrayal of tragedy and resilience. Güçlüten’s characters — both physically vivid and psychologically layered — draw readers deep into the realities of poverty, humiliation, and survival. Written with a fluid, high literary style, the novel satisfies both devoted readers of literature and those seeking a sharper understanding of society and humanity.

Despite its harshness, Disco Ball succeeds in making the audience inhabit the protagonist’s inner world. The boundaries of place and time blur, and the staging — light, set, visual flow — becomes a bridge between emotion and narrative.

Disco Ball is a brave and unsettling play. Its text, direction, and performance constantly pull the audience in and out of the story — at once intimate and alienating. With its dazzling yet fractured light, the play reflects life’s broken truths. One of the standout works of the season.

I think woman is an indomitable resistor. A resistance against life, against what life imposes, against the system and order. It is often woman who walks fearlessly, bringing not only her mind and knowledge but also her instincts. … To me, a woman is the one who does not give up.

I feel literature has supported and freed me in my need to inhabit my own world. Stories begin in my mind with sound and images. I often find myself first with the characters; the plot emerges as they start living. … I am not yet fully versed in theatre or screenwriting — they are more technical crafts, after all — but literature allows me to be a more headstrong pen. Someday, if I wish, I may turn entirely toward theatre or screenplay; for now, I write experiments with the freedom literature gives.

The prominence of social roles alienates us from one another. These roles dull the desire to truly see or understand someone else — truthfully. In my writing, I try to work against that: to evoke characters who are not just roles but persons with inner lives, voices, memories.

Women have given me hope. In my stories, I observe how women survive not in spite of suffering but through it. Their endurance — not as quietly bearing the pain, but in their resistance, their refusal to be erased — that is what inspires me to write.

This was my first encounter with the author’s work, and I was deeply impressed. After reading the final lines, I leaned back and thought, what did I just read? The subject, the structure, and the beauty of the narration carried me inside the story — I became a shadow within it, with tears in my eyes and a heaviness in my heart. The novel shows us the painful realities of being a woman, of being a girl. Through Solmaz Hanım’s stolen childhood and Gönül’s tragic fate, we see how neglect, abuse, and violence shape lives. It reminds us of the weight of lovelessness, of how childhood defines one’s destiny. I admired the character analysis, the way the plot unfolded, and especially the ending — it was magnificent. This is a book I wholeheartedly recommend.

A woman living in her subconscious, dismissed as mad by society. Ignored, erased, forced into nothingness. And yet, like anyone else, she struggles to exist and to heal her wounds. Reading her inner world was profoundly moving. An absolutely striking story.

Exceptional Encounters became one of the most memorable gifts of my quarantine days. While reading, I felt as though I were watching a film: two souls, belonging to each other yet shaped by different worlds, reveal how easily we lose life’s simplest offerings. The book invites empathy with every character — not only the protagonists. There is no pure evil or pure goodness here; rather, people doing what survival demands. One day you are a street child, another day a dancer, a girl sold by her father, or a boy unloved by his family. At times, it feels less like reading fiction and more like walking through the side streets of a big city at night. I loved it, deeply and completely.

The thoughts inside the character’s mind are like the fractured reflections from the mirrors of a disco ball — distorted, broken, never quite whole. Ayça Güçlüten captures this state of mind so vividly that it ties your stomach in knots. As a reader, you find yourself helplessly drawn into that mind, knowing you cannot change or help, only observe. The weight of that helplessness settles inside you like a stone.

Of Ayça Güçlüten’s books, I can say so much about the fourth — I read it with pure joy. As I turned the pages, I felt: these are my own sentences. I heard the melody in my mind whispering: do your thoughts echo mine? Exceptional Encounters kept saying: “You are not alone, you are not alone, you are not alone…” It spoke of loving a stranger, of feeling close and surrendered without needing to know or to be known. I believed it. This book is the fairytale of a grace rejected by the world — one that should be read and shared.

I had the chance to watch the play on December 15 at Baba Sahne. The performance was incredibly powerful — congratulations to the actor. The text itself was also very impressive. Normally, I struggle to keep my attention during one-person plays, but this time I followed every moment with full focus. Watching such a strong story about women was truly inspiring. The visual transitions in the background were also beautifully done. Congratulations to the entire team.

The play’s text was outstanding — congratulations to Ayça Güçlüten! It was an intense piece… Nihan Doğa’s performance, never losing its energy for a single moment, was truly remarkable. The use of lighting was elegant and refined. Absolutely a must-see!

The script takes you on a journey from one emotion to another. The actress conveys all these emotions to the audience with great success, without ever losing balance in the flow. My only critique is about the music and visual design — at times, they felt like they pulled me out of the play. With more original and seamless integration, it could have been even stronger. Still, it’s a play that will definitely stay with me through its unforgettable lines.

The play’s script was truly impressive. Ayça Güçlüten’s writing is admirable. The acting was also strong, and the character was wonderfully conveyed to the audience. Wishing continued success.