Memet Ali Alabora

Memet Ali Alabora — Biography

Memet Ali Alabora was born in Istanbul on 25 November 1977; his parents -- the actors Betül Arım and Mustafa Alabora -- are said to have named him after the "Memetçik Memet" section of Nazım Hikmet's poem "Human Landscapes from My Country," and his paternal grandmother, Nurhayat Pınar, sister of composer Selahattin Pınar, helped raise him. He first acted in school productions of Çöpçatan and Damdaki Kemancı, worked as a reporter on A Takımı, and made his television debut in Kara Melek alongside his father. He graduated from Istanbul University's State Conservatory in 1999 and earned a master's at Yıldız Technical University.

Before becoming known for Memoli in Yılan Hikayesi, he had played Hakan in Kara Melek; he chaired the Actors' Union, provisionally then by election, from 2011 until 2014. In 2012 he staged Meltem Arıkan's fantastical play Mi Minör, playing the president of the fictional country of Pinima; claims that the play had "rehearsed" the 2013 Gezi Park protests caused a storm, a social-media message he posted on 10 June 2013 was cited as inciting followers, and he sought police protection after receiving death threats.

Married to Pınar Öğün on 19 November 2009, Alabora produced several works in Wales with playwright Meltem Arıkan through his wife's company Be Aware Production, and, having learned Welsh, played a Turkish political exile in the series Fflam.