27th Istanbul Theatre Festival: The Meeting Point for Theatre Loversı

27th Istanbul Theatre Festival: The Meeting Point for Theatre Lovers
The 27th Istanbul Theatre Festival, long-awaited with excitement by art enthusiasts, opened its doors on October 25. Organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) and sponsored by Koç Holding Energy Group Companies Aygaz, Entek, Opet, and Tüpraş, the festival will continue until November 25.

Opening with the play Café Müller by Pina Bausch at Zorlu Performing Arts Center on October 25, the 27th Istanbul Theatre Festival, curated this year by Işıl Kasapoğlu, hosts a total of 20 theatre, performance, and dance productions from Turkey and abroad. Eleven productions come from Turkey, while nine come from Germany, the UK, Denmark, France, Georgia, Ireland, Israel, and Greece, captivating theatre lovers with full intensity.

Mehmet Birkiye Presented with the ‘27th Istanbul Theatre Festival Honor Award’
As every year, the theatre festival was crowned with the excitement of the ‘Honor Award’. Following last year’s recipient Ali Poyrazoğlu, this year’s award went to Mehmet Birkiye. The renowned theatre actor and director Mehmet Birkiye received the ‘27th Istanbul Theatre Festival Honor Award’ at a ceremony held at Okra Istanbul on September 4, marking an enthusiastic beginning to the festival events.

Presented by İKSV Board Chairman Bülent Eczacıbaşı, the ‘27th Istanbul Theatre Festival Honor Award’ acknowledged Mehmet Birkiye’s long and successful career in theatre and his contributions to the art world. In his speech at the Istanbul Theatre Festival, Birkiye emphasized the special meaning the festival holds for him and highlighted its importance as a high-quality event that brings theatre lovers together to experience unforgettable moments.

Born in Istanbul in 1950, Mehmet Birkiye has contributed to the arts not only as a theatre actor and director but also as an academician for many years. Since 1977, he has taught stage technique and acting at Istanbul University State Conservatory. Between 1977 and 1984, he worked as an assistant to Prof. Dr. Yıldız Kenter at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory Theatre Department and performed professionally as an actor and director at Kent Oyuncuları, founded by Kenter. He has also directed plays at Istanbul State Theatre, Istanbul City Theatres, and many private theatres. Between 2000 and 2003, he founded the Department of “Stage and Performing Arts Management” at Beykent University Faculty of Fine Arts; in 2008, he established the ‘Drama and Acting Department’ at Istanbul Aydın University, where he continues to serve. Alongside his academic career, Birkiye continues his acting and directing with the same professional approach, passion, and discipline, making unique contributions to the art world.

Hosts of the Istanbul Theatre Festival
The 27th Istanbul Theatre Festival takes place in 15 captivating venues across different regions of Istanbul. Venues include Kadıköy Belediyesi Alan Kadıköy, Atlas 1948 Cinema, Büyük Zarifi Apartment, Caddebostan Cultural Center, DasDas, Fişekhane, Galatasaray High School, Harbiye Muhsin Ertuğrul Stage, Hope Alkazar, İş Towers Hall, Metro Han, Notre Dame de Sion French High School, Saint Benoit French High School, Süreyya Opera House, and Zorlu PSM.

The plays and events staged in these diverse venues allow art lovers to experience different atmospheres. In addition to theatre, this interaction also engages participants with architecture and history, enriching the festival spirit even further.

Diversity and Unforgettable Experiences
The Istanbul Theatre Festival program attracts attention with its variety of staging types and forms. From documentary theatre to classic productions, contemporary dance to mask theatre, puppet cinema to site-specific works, dance theatre to performative installations, the festival presents a wide spectrum of works to audiences. This diversity broadens our horizons, frees our minds from inertia, and helps us feel the creative power of art within us. The eagerly awaited festival once again takes audiences on an enjoyable journey into the magical world of theatre, offering an unforgettable experience.

Highlights from the 27th Istanbul Theatre Festival

Café Müller
Performed by Tanztheater Wuppertal, Café Müller consists of dance performances accompanied by music. Directed by Barbara Kaufmann and Helena Pinon, with stage and costume design by Rolf Borzik, the play mesmerized audiences with its enchanting and emotional performances.

Pina Bausch, who choreographs her dances with poetic imagery and, in her own words, “combines dance with theatre,” examines the search for love and trust in this work, as in all her productions.

The opening performance of the festival presents a contemporary interpretation of Bausch’s immortal masterpiece Café Müller, whose popularity increased with the 2011 film Pina. Addressing themes such as love, loneliness, hope, and the desire for understanding, the dancers represent various aspects of life and emotional experiences. Bausch’s piece depicts the post-war atmosphere she observed in her family-run Café Müller in Germany, portraying a society struggling to survive and souls desperately seeking love and understanding.

Flu Lysistrata
Flu Lysistrata is considered one of the first anti-war plays in theatre history. The play, which focuses on the resistance of women whose husbands have gone to war, is directed by award-winning director Barış Arman. Featuring an unconventional and audience-centered approach, the play offers an innovative perspective on Aristophanes’ classic text through a cross-genre interpretation. Actors, audience members, and orchestra share the flexible stage space, becoming part of the performance. In this contemporary staging, which seeks unity not in opposites but in ambiguity, identity, power, and the status quo, along with their representation on stage, are critically explored.

Set and lighting design are by Kerem Çetinel, costume design by Hilal Polat, and performances by Bulut Akkale, Damla Karaelmas, Didem Germen, Elif Ürse, Emre Sırımsı, Faruk Üstün, Gözde Ayar, Kadir Hasman, and Nurhayat Atasoy provided art lovers with an unforgettable experience.

İstos and Büyük Zarifi Apartment
This production blends historical facts with fictional stories, offering a spatial experience unique to the Büyük Zarifi Apartment, built by one of Istanbul’s wealthiest families during the reigns of Abdülaziz and Abdülhamit II. It captivates theatre enthusiasts, history buffs, and architecture lovers alike.

İSTOS, designed and directed by İlyas Özçakır, focuses on the Büyük Zarifi Apartment in Pembe Çıkmaz, part of Istanbul’s ancient collective memory. Staged as part of the Istanbul Theatre Festival, the play provides insight into the history of Istanbul’s Greek community and the city’s rich heritage. Scenes unfold in meticulously decorated different apartments, taking audiences through stories across various time periods.

Built in the early 1850s, the five-story, 13-apartment Büyük Zarifi Apartment in Beyoğlu is one of the most striking examples of Art Nouveau architecture in Pera. Designed by Dimitrios Panayotides, its stone-clad entrance, floral decorations, vine leaves, medallion motifs, and curved iron gates make it a culturally significant heritage site. The neighboring plot houses the smaller Zarifi Apartment, once home to prominent figures and formerly used as an orphanage. Historical details can also be found in Jean Zarifi’s grandson Yorgo L. Zarifi’s book Hatıralarım, documenting the family’s past and constructions.

You Are Not Hamlet
Nesrin Kazankaya, founder and artistic director of Tiyatro Pera, participated in the 27th Istanbul Theatre Festival with her play You Are Not Hamlet, which she wrote, directed, and also performed in. Set design was by Sabahattin Özbakır, lighting by Önder Ay, and costumes by Nilüfer Moayeri. Barış Yalçınsoy and Rana Büyükyılmaz also gave compelling performances.

The play draws parallels between the life of a mother and her children living in a caravan and Shakespeare’s famous tragedy Hamlet. Addressing socio-economic challenges of modern times, it explores the love-hate relationship between a son trained in acting but working as a waiter to support his family, and his ‘hippie’ mother from the ’68 generation. Lines from Hamlet are presented in a contemporary perspective, with elements of absurd comedy keeping the audience engaged.

Veteran artist Nesrin Kazankaya has contributed to theatre for nearly 40 years not only as a writer and director but also as a translator, actor, and theatre educator.

Baklava Republic
Designed and directed by Anestis Azas, and co-written with Gerasimos Bekas and Michalis Pitidis, Baklava Republic is a surreal comedy that challenges prejudices. The play revolves around a young Turkish-Greek couple questioning contemporary Greek society, national identity, and the concept of a utopian single-nation digital world. In a dynamic and innovative style, main characters Fatih and Sophia attempt to establish their own autonomous state through a baklava shop in the town of Mesalongi. Their failed venture offers a glimpse into a fictional history, questioning artificial conflicts and societal myths as the obstacles to coexistence.

Considered socio-political theatre, Baklava Republic received critical acclaim and became one of the festival’s standout works. Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu, who plays Fatih and was awarded ‘Most Successful Young Generation Artist’ at the 2017 Afife Theatre Awards and ‘Best Actor’ at the 2022 Golden Orange Film Festival, captivated audiences with his performance.