25th Istanbul Theatre Festival to Take Place This October and November

Organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) and sponsored by Koç Holding Energy Group Companies Aygaz, Opet and Tüpraş, the 25th Istanbul Theatre Festival raises its curtains on 22 October. With the slogan "Theatre In These Trying Times", the 25th edition of the festival has set out to breathe fresh air into both the world of theatre and to theatre lovers with a programme of mostly new productions that look at the world, which is in search of a new normal, through the lens of theatre. The festival will host 25 national and international in person and online performances over the course of one month. While online screenings will be accessible from throughout Turkey, in person performances of the festival will meet the audiences at Alan Kadıköy, Atlas 1948 Movie Theatre, Profilo Cultural Centre West Main Stage, Duru Ataşehir, Moda Stage Theatre, Caddebostan Cultural Centre, Gazhane Museum, Yapı Kredi bomontiada, DasDas and Zorlu PSM in compliance with measures against COVID-19. Online screenings will be available at passostudio.com throughout the festival.

11 physical and online productions from abroad will meet theatregoers with the support of festival's International Productions Performance Sponsor ENKA Foundation, whereas 14 local productions will have their premieres on the festival. Like every year, free-of-charge side events such as panels, workshops, talks and reading theatres held within the scope of the festival's Learning and Training Programme will accompany the festival.

Following the presale of discounted tickets for İKSV Tulip Card holders starting on 20 September, the festival tickets will be available for purchase on Friday, 24 September at İKSV box office and through passo.com.tr.

25th Istanbul Theatre Festival press conference was held online

25th Istanbul Theatre Festival press conference was held online on Thursday morning, 9 September.

Speaking at the conference, General Director of İKSV Görgün Taner said: "This year we are organising the 25th Istanbul Theatre Festival. As in the 24 editions we have organised since 1989 to date, we have again prepared a versatile festivity with performances and side events. On one hand, we are meeting in the theatres, and on the other, we are continuing to bring different examples from around the world to our viewers through online screenings. The slogan "theatre in these trying times", which you will see in the publicities of our festival reminds us how theatre brings us together, how it changes us and lets us breathe in this period of global turmoil. I hope that our festival which will go on until 20 November will induce us to experience once again these positive feelings created by theatre and at the same time contribute to the recovery of our theatre scene that has been adversely affected by the pandemic. I extend my heartfelt thanks to all our sponsors and supporters and in particular to our co-sponsors Koç Holding Energy Group Companies Aygaz, Opet and Tüpraş for their contributions to the organisation of the 25th Istanbul Theatre Festival."

Koç Holding Energy Group President Yağız Eyüboğlu said, "As Koç Energy Group brands Aygaz, Opet, and Tüpraş, we maintain our enthusiasm towards art for 17 years as the co-sponsor of the festival, and contribute to the sustainability of culture and arts while meeting the energy requirement of our country. Within the framework of this vision of ours, supporting theatre and this valuable organization who ensured the improvement of the consciousness level of the society in terms of art as well, who increased the creativity of younger generations, and who reflected the social awareness is of great value for us. Witnessing the gradual increase in the number of festival audience reinforces our hopes for our country's cultural future. Before I end my words, I wish God's mercy on Ferhan Şensoy, the great master of theatre and literature, whom we lost recently, and I respectfully commemorate all the valuable artists we have lost. I once again thank the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, Mr. Bülent Eczacıbaşı; the General Director of İKSV, Mr. Görgün Taner; Istanbul Theatre Festival Director, Mrs. Leman Yılmaz, and all festival staff, and I wish a pleasant festival with a high energy."

Announcing the festival programme at the conference, Istanbul Theatre Festival Director Leman Yılmaz said, "Istanbul Theatre Festival held the festival with a mixed programme with the importance of hope in 2020, when the pandemic was at its heaviest. Due to the ongoing uncertainties this year, we prepared the festival programme with a mixed setup that includes both physical and online theatre, dance and performance productions. The experience we gained at the last festival guided us while preparing this year's programme. The programme of the 25th Istanbul Theatre Festival includes 11 productions from abroad: 3 physical, 1 screening and 7 online. Local productions, on the other hand, will mainly be staged in physical venues. 14 local productions - 11 physical and 3 online - will meet with our audience for the first time. As in every festival, this year's Learning and Training Programme also includes panels on various topics, reading theatres and workshops. This year, we present our honorary awards to our esteemed academician Prof. Dr. Ayşegül Yüksel and one of the most remarkable directors of Italy, Pippo Delbono. There are three sections that stand out in the festival programme: Dutch selection, There is a Woman Behind This and Golden Mask is in Istanbul - Online. We deeply missed watching plays on the stage. We have a strong belief that the theatre will let us breathe in this challenging time. Our hope is our most important support in meeting this difficult process."

Festival's Honorary Awards go to Ayşegül Yüksel and Pippo Delbono

This year the Honorary Awards of the 25th Istanbul Theatre Festival will be presented to writer and academician Prof. Ayşegül Yüksel and Italian director Pippo Delbono.

Executive board member of International Theatre Institute (I.T.I.) Turkish Centre (1986-1991), founding member of Theatre Critics Association (T.E.B.), advisory committee member of İKSV Istanbul Theatre Festival and International Ankara Theatre Festival, and the author of theatre reviews and articles published in numerous journals, Prof. Ayşegül Yüksel made a brief speech at the festival's press conference: "Istanbul Theatre Festival's Honorary Award has an immense significance for me for two reasons. Firstly, it connects me with the very valuable persons of art who have merited this award to date; and secondly, it is an 80th birthday gift that has been given to me. I am at an age when someone who has spent most of her life going to the theatre, reading and writing about theatre and lecturing on theatre, must take a moment and look back. Thus, such a gift coming at this stage tells me that I have not spent my days and nights in vain, that I have 'fortunately' done what I did. I heartily thank the Istanbul Theatre Festival team, who have worked around the clock to ensure that theatre creates an impact even in the present "pandemic" situation, and the board that has deemed me worthy of the award."

Following his training in traditional theatre, the Italian author, actor and director Pippo Delbono founded the Compagnia Pippo Delbono in the early 80s and created most of his works ranging from Il Tempo degli Assassini (1987) to La Gioia (2018) with this company. Rather than staging plays, the artist carried out complete creations devised with a group of actors whose number grew over the years. He worked with socially marginalised people. Some of these actors, including the recently deceased deaf and mute Bobò who was held in an asylum in Aversa near Naples for forty-five years, kept working with the company and still constitute an important part of this experience.

Delbono will receive his award on 4 November at Zorlu PSM following his play La Gioia which will be staged with the support of ENKA Foundation.

FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

Istanbul Theatre Festival presents 14 national and 11 international productions

This year the 25th Istanbul Theatre Festival will present the audience with a rich programme extending from in person productions to online screenings, from "ear theatre" to children's theatre, from movie screenings to complimentary panels, talks and reading theatres over the course of one month.

9 national productions will be staged for the first time in Turkey at the Istanbul Theatre Festival. The Cherry Orchard directed by Mehmet Birkiye of the Kocaeli Municipality Theatre will have its Istanbul premiere at the festival. In the national programme this year there are also three "ear theatres" that can be listened to online.

The festival features three widely acclaimed international productions from the Netherlands, France and Italy along with seven foreign productions that can be watched online. As part of the festival this year Gazhane Museum will host the dance show from France Waterfloor which can be attended free-of-charge while a special screening of Oedipus by the British director Robert Icke will be held on the silver screen of the Atlas 1948 Movie Theatre.

Contemporary Dutch theatre visits the festival with "Dutch Focus"

Continuing its collaboration with the Netherlands consulate-general in Istanbul, which began in 2020, the Istanbul Theatre Festival presents a selection of three works from the Netherlands. Staged with the contributions of ENKA Foundation, the performance sponsor of all international productions in the festival, the plays Medea, Oedipus and Alice are also supported by Dutch Performing Arts, a programme of the Performing Arts Fund NL.

Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA), which spearheads Dutch theatre with its prestigious cast and directorial team, is presenting its award-winning adaptation of Medea by Simon Stone, praised by The Guardian as "a raw masterpiece created by a flawless ensemble". Successful young writer and director Stone, whose new plays are always eagerly anticipated, rewrites ancient tragedy playwright Euripides' Medea in today's language and combines it with a real event. Medea will be performed in person on Wednesday and Thursday, 17 and 18 November at Zorlu PSM, the venue sponsor with the highest contribution to the festival.

Yet another play in the selection is by the talented British theatre writer and director, the youngest ever winner of the Olivier Award Robert Icke who has been acclaimed for his high-profile adaptations of classical pieces. Artist in Residence at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA), Icke is in the festival with the 21st century Oedipus, which has been praised by The Times as "a superb interpretation that feels modern and timeless". In this 21st century adaptation of Sophocles' work, the director transforms Oedipus into a politician who finds out the greatest secret of his life. The play featuring Hans Kesting, who delivers an extraordinary performance as Oedipus, will be on the silver screen of Atlas 1948 Cinema with two screenings on Saturday, 6 November at 14.00 and 20.00.

The dance performance titled Alice by de Stilte, which is a Dutch dance company that focuses entirely on developing productions for children, encourages the children to tell their own story and let their imagination run free by taking them out of the everyday world and inviting them into the abstract world of the senses. Alice can be streamed on passostudio.com throughout the festival.

"Dutch Focus" will also host a reading theatre of a Dutch playwright's play translated into Turkish.

Golden Mask Festival visits Istanbul with three online plays from Russia

Istanbul Theatre Festival's collaboration with Golden Mask Russian Performing Arts Festival, which began in 2018, continues this year with three productions included in the festival's online program. Supported by ENKA Foundation, the performance sponsor of all international productions in the festival, The Bear, Boris and Children of The Sun can be streamed on passostudio.com between 22 October and 20 November along with all the other online shows.

Anton Chekhov's most known short play written in 1888 The Bear is the bizarre story of romance flaring up between Mrs Popov, a widow mourning the death of her husband, and Mr Smirnov, a landowner nicknamed "The Bear" who comes to collect her husband's debt.

The relationship between man and power in Pushkin's tragedy Boris Godunov, which was inspired by William Shakespeare's historic dramas, is conveyed in Boris with a simple, realistic, and poetic language as the play's director Dmitry Krymov offers a clever, ironic and contemporary look at this classical text.

The successful Russian director Timofei Kulyabin's brilliant adaptation of Maxim Gorky's Children of the Sun intertwines the transcripts of speeches by Russian scientists, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk at Stanford University campus.

Festival's new section: "There Is A Woman Behind This"

One of the novelties in this edition of the festival is the section titled "There Is A Woman Behind This" which brings together the plays that have been entirely created by women and aims to render visible the women's production. Four plays under this theme heading are brought to the audience with the theme sponsorship of Odeabank.

Adapted from Zehra İpşiroğlu's novel, the Confrontation will make the viewer experience a confrontation with the patriarchal mentality that surrounds our lives through the characters Doctor Mert, who has a respectable standing in society, university student Özlem, feminist activist and faculty member Serra and much-loved nurse Sibel who has a successful career.

Written by Aslı Ceren Bozatlı and directed by Özge Erdem, One Step Too Far, a contemporary salute to absurd classics, invites the audience to the inescapable and inert world of two people stuck in a vicious cycle.

Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, which has become a classic as one of the seminal scripts of the women's movement as well as the history of literature, meets the festival audience as an "ear theatre" with contributions of Podacto and delivered by Tiyatro Boyalı Kuş, which has over twenty years of feminist theatre experience.

Fair Tales, developed by Odeabank and reinterpreted by Can Publications from an egalitarian point of view, is now on the theatre stage as a children's play... Our heroes, Cinderella, Rapunzel, The Kindhearted Prince, Little Red Riding Hood and The Frog Prince draw attention to gender equality as they break stereotypes on their new adventures.

"There Is A Woman Behind This" theme will also host two panels titled Equality of the Stage and the Stage of Equality moderated by Ebru Nihan Celkan and How to devise an equal path in children's narratives?.

Festival opens with Zerrin Tekindor's play Dust

This year the festival opens on 22 October with Zerrin Tekindor's performance of the play titled Dust written by Murat Mahmutyazıcıoğlu and directed by Hira Tekindor. Zerrin Tekindor will play all the characters in the play that reaches from the 1960s to present day narrating the story of Handan and her mother Feri as Handan remembers her. Tekfen Holding is the performance sponsor of the play that will be staged at Alan Kadıköy on the first two days of the festival.

11 national productions will premiere in the festival

Of the 14 national productions in the 25th Istanbul Theatre Festival program, plays will have their İstanbul premiere at the festival; Dust with Zerrin Tekindor's performance, The Labourer with Emre Kınay's performance, Confrontation written by Zehra İpşiroğlu, Chorus of Agony by BAMİstanbul, Gabriel's Dream written by Sema Elcim and directed by Ahmet Sami Özbudak, The Collector directed by Eyüp Emre Uçaray, The Cherry Orchard directed by Mehmet Birkiye of the Kocaeli Municipality Theatres, One Step Too Far by Kadıköy Emek Tiyatrosu, Istanbul Theatre Festival production written by Ceren Ercan, directed by Yelda Baskın Protect Me From Punches as well as the children's plays Fair Tales and Mythological Tales will meet İstanbul audience for the first time during the festival. Podacto productions Waiting for Godot and The Open Couple as well as A Room of One's Own by Tiyatro Boyalı Kuş are programmed online.

Full details of the festival programme are at the end of this release and at https://tiyatro.İKSV.org/en/programme.

Productions for children at the festival

The programme of the 25th Istanbul Theatre Festival presents four productions for children: Alice in "Dutch Focus" and Fair Tales sponsored by Odeabank in the thematic section "There Is A Woman Behind This" along with Mythological Tales 1 & 2 sponsored by Paribu.

As part of İKSV Cultural Policy Studies, İKSV Alt Kat offers children, youth and families in person/online workshops and content in different arts disciplines and develops projects targeting the participation of groups with limited access to cultural events. Within the scope of the festival, İKSV Alt Kat presents a new production geared towards children aged 7-12. Co-created by Ani Haddeler (Anuşka's Workshop) and İKSV Alt Kat, Mythological Tales 1 and 2 is a children's play with puppets consisting of six chapters and extending over two days. A different myth will be told in each of the Mythological Tales, which will be narrated by the main character/puppet Aphrodite. Following the performances to be staged with a guest artist who will join the team in each chapter, a Body Music Workshop and Puppet/Drama Workshop for children will be organised free of charge.

Once again, an abundant Learning and Training Programme at the festival

Like every year, the 25th edition of the Istanbul Theatre Festival will offer theatre lovers free-of-charge events within the scope of its Learning and Training Programme including panels, workshops, talks and reading theatres. As part of the program, panels titled "New Dramaturgy and Criticism on the Axis of Digitalisation and Ecology", "How to Devise an Equal Path in Children's Narratives?" and "Equality of the Stage and the Stage of Equality"led by Ebru Nihan Celkan; a reading theatre called "Play of the Year"; Meanwhile, for children the programme offers "Body Music Workshop moderated by KeKeÇa" and "Puppet/Drama Workshop moderated by Ani Haddeler".

Arts Map, a digital mapping and networking platform, implemented by the Consulate General of the Netherlands and Inogarart which aims to create a cultural and artistic ecosystem that is sustainable using networking, training of trainers, information sharing and joint projects, is bringing several names from the performing arts field together during a three-day programme, in collaboration with the Istanbul Theatre Festival, titled "Sustain The Stage!" on October 26, 27 and 28, 2021. Dutch and Turkish artists will reimagine the future of Performing Arts using their differing experiences and perspectives. While answers to the question "How can we come up with sustainable strategies for the future of Performing Arts?" are to be sought during group work, participants will find the opportunity to network through a speed date event. Details to be announced soon.

25th Istanbul Theatre Festival tickets available for purchase on Friday, 24 September

Following the presale of discounted tickets for Tulip Card holders, the festival tickets will be available for purchase as of 10.30 on Friday, 24 September through passo.com.tr and at the İKSV box office (open every day between 10.00-18.00, closed on Sunday). There will be a limited number of discounted student tickets for every performance.

Tulip Card holders whose memberships contribute to all the activities realised by İKSV throughout the year have priority access to festival tickets at discounted prices. Black Tulip Card holders may purchase their tickets on Monday, 20 September; White Tulip Card holders on Tuesday, 21 September; and Red and Yellow Tulip Card holders on 22 September as of 10.30. Black and White Tulip Card holders can buy their tickets with an option to select seats at a 25% discount through passo.com.tr or via the reservation form sent to their address. Red and Yellow Tulip Card holders can purchase their tickets at a 15% and 20% discount for in person events and online events, respectively.

About COVID-19 measures

All indoor events of the 25th Istanbul Theatre Festival to be held between 22 October and 20 November will be carried out in compliance with the measures taken in the frame of the "Circular on the Controlled Normalization Process in Arts and Culture Facilities" dated 23 June 2020 and issued by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism Directorate General of Investments and Enterprises. For the measures to be implemented at the festival venues and the COVID-19 Activity Guide, please refer to https://tiyatro.iksv.org/en.

Important notice for the audience attending the events

As per the circular issued by the Ministry of the Interior, as of Monday, 6 September 2021, members of the audience can attend the events upon completing their vaccination protocol or by presenting their negative PCR test results taken in the last 48 hours. Controls will be held at the venue entries via Hayat Eve Sığar (HES) application. There is no PCR test requirement for audiences under 18 years old. Measures against Covid-19 will continue to be implemented at the event sites as previously announced.

Follow the festival on İKSV mobile

Through the İKSV Mobile application, you may add to your calendar the Istanbul Theatre Festival performances you wish to follow, create your own program, search by artist, venue or event name, view the events on the map and get directions. The application can be downloaded on App Store and Google Play.

25TH ISTANBUL THEATRE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

PHYSICAL PERFORMANCES OF LOCAL PRODUCTIONS

OPENING PERFORMANCE: Dust

Friday, 22 October 20.00 / Saturday, 23 October 15.00 / Alan Kadıköy

A girl who grew up on the streets of the big city, in front of the apartment buildings, when the concrete had not yet pierced the sky. The only daughter of a beautiful housewife and a meticulous lawyer: Handan. A young woman who grew up and found her own way through times when the streets were as restless as the home where she lived with her parents... Her head and heart are full of sounds; a melody from far away, birds chirping, the sound of the train tracks, the rustle of a joyful gift package, the voice of her mother, father, grandmother, and aunt... Then, some sounds she wishes weren't there, echoing off the walls of different houses at different times... When we meet Handan, who appears before us as an adult woman, she will be long immersed in a story that stretches from her childhood to the present day. The story of Handan and her mother Feri, as Handan remembers her, settles into a narrative dating from the 1960s to the present day. Written by Murat Mahmutyazıcıoğlu, this new one-hander play which intersects with many other people, will meet the festival audience under the direction of Hira Tekindor and with a performance by Zerrin Tekindor. Dust is realised with the support of Tekfen Holding and with valuable collaboration of Municipality of Kadıköy.

The Labourer

Monday, 25 October 20.00 / Tuesday, 26 October 20.00 / Duru Ataşehir

If Shakespeare lived today, what would he say about the current out of control state of humanity and the planet? Perhaps this line of questioning is not really necessary, after all, aren't the bards' verses a study on the darkest corridors of the human soul, and as such, more than adequate to relate to our present-day? Irmak Bahçeci joins the festival with a surprise script prepared for the audience, but most of all for the theatre audience who always keeps Shakespeare's plays close to their heart! The Labourer is a collage of excerpts from Shakespeare's plays ranging from Macbeth to Romeo and Juliet, from Twelfth Night to The Merchant of Venice. The labourer escapes the civil war in his homeland with an orphan he saves; we meet him as a construction worker once he arrives at the big city. After throwing himself at the mercy of the owner of the construction company, we witness the labourer discovering that the small, safe and happy world he had built was not at all what he thought it was. The main themes of Shakespeare classics such as betrayal, jealousy, doubt, bloody wars, vengeance, deception, lust and desire for revenge intertwine with current issues such as civil war, strikes, femicides disguised as suicides, homophobia and labour exploitation. Under the direction of Emrah Eren, on a stage set in a construction site, we will watch the performance of Emre Kınay and witness a personal tragedy flowing over from the age of Shakespeare to the present day.

Confrontation

Wednesday, 27 October 20.00 / Caddebostan Kültür Merkezi

Doctor Mert, who has a respectable standing in society, university student Özlem, feminist activist and faculty member Serra and much-loved nurse Sibel who has a successful career... Through four present-day characters in the play, we will experience a "confrontation" with the patriarchal mentality that surrounds our lives. At the intersection of three female characters, who originate from a documentary novel based on real-life stories called Haneye Tecavüz written by Zehra İpşiroğlu, lies Doctor Mert who, openly or insidiously, uses the masculine power given to him by society and the system against all the women in his life. Confrontation is the story of three women, Mert's wife, daughter and co-worker, who become aware of the masculine language surrounding them and being imposed upon their minds and deciding to confront it... Written by Zehra İpşiroğlu, who has also co-directed with Deniz Şengenç and Onur Gazdağ, the play reveals the physical and psychological violence, mobbing and harassment we witness every day, with a narrative directly from the characters themselves. While the social aspect of the issue is represented with a dancer and projected images that accompany the characters, the women's alienation from each other and what they are experiencing is gradually replaced by acceptance, confrontation and solidarity. The women, who understand who they really are as they share their experiences, will stand up at the end of the road as if they are waking up from a long nightmare... Confrontation is realised with the support of Odeabank, sponsor of the festival's theme titled 'There is a Woman Behind This'.

Chorus of Agony

Tuesday, 2 November 20.00 / Wednesday, 3 November 20.00 / Alan Kadıköy

Murat Mahmutyazıcoğlu, known for bringing the voices of İstanbul to the stage; what women, young and old, think about; the hurt and angry states of young people drifting from here to there, this time tells an 'apartment story'. This time, we will hear voices from a 'peaceful' family apartment, in other words, the sound of "ordinary folk." The "bam" sounds we are familiar with from previous productions of the company, reach our ears, resounding throughout the floors of the apartment. With details that won't escape the attentive audience, Chorus of Agony is a two-actor yet polyphonic play. The silent thoughts and uncontainable yells of neighbours leading immensely distant lives in homes extremely close together; doors slamming, windows shaking, hearts breaking, children stomping and running around... The actors, who shoulder the performances of women, men, young, old, married, single, child and dog, in brief, all of the characters, manage all the sounds and effects that radiate throughout the play, as well. The 'anguish' the characters suffer, sometimes secretly and at other times by deafening shouts, settles into a rhythmic flow that makes the play lively from the opening to the finale. Once again BAMİstanbul draws its power from the script and the performances of the actors, and while focusing on one corner of the city it tells the story of the entire homeland. This play was produced with the support of İKSV Gülriz Sururi-Engin Cezzar Theatre Encouragement Awards.

Fair Tales

Saturday, 6 November 11.30 & 16.00 / Sunday, 7 November 16.00 / Alan Kadıköy

We are introduced to female-male roles and the concept of gender equality for the first time as children listening to fairy tales. Fair Tales, developed by Odeabank and reinterpreted by Can Publications from an egalitarian point of view, is now on the theatre stage. Our heroes, Cinderella, Rapunzel, The Kindhearted Prince, Little Red Riding Hood and The Frog Prince, draw attention to gender equality as they are break stereotypes on their new adventures. Have you ever met a princess who knows the answers to all the riddles in the world? Or one who can make a compass out of a hairpin and a mushroom? You fill find the brave Kindhearted Prince who challenges Vizier Vezveze, as well as the prince who turns into a frog in Fair Tales... All of our heroes are invited to the Vizier selection ball tonight. Let's see who becomes vizier! The play is realised with the support of Odeabank, sponsor of the festival's theme titled 'There is a Woman Behind This'.

Gabriel's Dream

Tuesday, 9 November 20.00 / Wednesday, 10 November 20.00 / Alan Kadıköy

Gabriel's Dream invites us to witness the experiences of three couples on Lesbos Island, who despite setting out from different places, have very different yet very similar stories. The old Greek couple Angeliki and Angelos, who were formerly forced to migrate from Turkey to Lesbos, Mirvan and Yana who have fled the war in Syria and are heading West in hopes of starting a new life, and Berna and Berke from İstanbul in search of a new direction in their relationship... During the play, which focuses on a few days on the Middle East-Aegean route where characters in Lesbos share the same time frame but lead separate lives, the audience will witness the butterfly effect these six people have on each other's personal stories. Gabriel's Dream, written by Sema Elcim and directed by Ahmet Sami Özbudak, relays that even in our relatively comfortable lives we cannot 'escape' what occurs on the planet through staging the stories of people which are similar to the ones we often hear in real life.

The Collector

Wednesday, 10 November 20.00 / Thursday, 11 November 20.00 / Profilo Kültür Merkezi West Stage

The suspenseful story of a passionate butterfly collector transferring his instinct of possession into an obsessive and platonic relationship... The Collector tells the story of how Frederick Clegg, in his late 20's, holds young and beautiful art student Miranda captive and gradually subjects her to psychological and physical violence, while also involving the audience in this dangerous game. The play, adapted for the stage by Mark Healy from the stunning novel by English author John Fowles, draws attention to 'those who are complicit in crime by staying silent,' just as in real life. Directed by Eyüp Emre Uçaray, the play invites its audience to a layered discussion with the theme of the 'woman-man' relationship over the devastation caused by the age-old yet current conflict between classes and people's desire to possess. As Clegg takes hold of Miranda's body and mind -just like the butterflies he adds to his collection- Miranda finds herself alone in her struggle to break free. The audience finds itself in the position of an 'accomplice' to Clegg's obsessive actions without even realizing it as Clegg, who sees his actions as natural and right, established the audience before him as an 'ally'.

The Cherry Orchard

Friday, 12 November 20.00 / Saturday, 13 November 15.00 / DasDas

The people of The Cherry Orchard, the last play Chekhov completed between the years 1903-1904, are actually telling a story to future generations while they try to cope with the enormous change they're going through. How do we confront events during transformation points that turn the tide upside down, as the world we know changes rapidly? Revolving around a land-owning family in 19th-century Russia, The Cherry Orchard is a strong but stark classic that invites audiences from different periods to look at their own lives. We will follow the inept steps taken by this family as the fundamental values of their lives change, with everything they know and take for granted as good and lasting being pulled from underneath their feet. The audience will be experiencing Chekhov's timeless narrative and authentic sense of humour through the competent lens of director Mehmet Birkiye. In the play, where the truth of people and life is conveyed in all its simplicity; sadness and happiness, love and grief, comedy and destruction are intertwined. Just as in life, it is a mixture of contrasts. Yet Chekhov, that is fiction, has the last word. Reality is nothing but fiction.

Mythological Tales I

Saturday, 13 November 11.00 & 13.00 / Yapı Kredi bomontiada 4. Kat

Mythological Tales is a children's play with puppets co-created by Ani Haddeler (Anuşka's Workshop) and İKSV Alt Kat. A different myth will be told in each of the Mythological Tales, which consists of six chapters in total. In these stories, which will be narrated by the main character/puppet Aphrodite, the legends of our geography will be staged with unique wooden puppets prepared specially for this project and a guest artist will join the stage in each chapter. This performance is realised with the support of Paribu and the kind collaboration of Yapı Kredi bomontiada.

Mythological Tales II

Saturday, 13 November 11.00 & 13.00 / Yapı Kredi bomontiada 4. Kat

Mythological Tales is a children's play with puppets co-created by Ani Haddeler (Anuşka's Workshop) and İKSV Alt Kat. A different myth will be told in each of the Mythological Tales, which consists of six chapters in total. In these stories, which will be narrated by the main character/puppet Aphrodite, the legends of our geography will be staged with unique wooden puppets prepared specially for this project and a guest artist will join the stage in each chapter. This performance is realised with the support of Paribu and the kind collaboration of Yapı Kredi bomontiada.

One Step Too Far

Monday, 15 November 20.00 / Tuesday, 16 November 20.00 / Moda Stage

The story of a woman, a man, and a sick father who live together in a house as if they were condemned to each other... Two people who are trapped in their existential crises, slip into a vicious cycle where they blame each other routinely as time goes by. The inescapable and inert daily life of two present-day people circling in a spiral, leads us to question our hypocrisy in the context of family and relationships, within a cacophonous existential crisis. One Step Too Far realised with the support of Odeabank, sponsor of the festival's theme titled 'There is a Woman Behind This'.

Protect Me From Punches

Friday, 19 November 20.00 / Saturday, 20 November 18.00 / Alan Kadıköy

Protect Me From Punches, looking at the 'cancel culture' that has emerged through new media in recent years through the eyes of two people who try to be humourists, lays up new media's promise of justice and change for discussion as well as the different dynamics in which the "word" has been confined to today. Two people from different generations cross paths on an 'open mic' night; they begin to think about the narration of personal experiences and the limits of humour. While the culture of lynching continues to exist today through social media, the play written by Ceren Ercan and directed by Yelda Baskın asks the entire country a question from a pub where very few people stop by: 'What is freedom and for whom?' Protect Me From Punches meets the audience as a production by İstanbul Theatre Festival under the scope of the co-production project initiated to bring new works to the Turkish theatre and to support the creation and production processes of writers, directors and actors by five institutions that influence our art and culture life.

PHYSICAL PERFORMANCES OF INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTIONS

Festival's physical performances of international productions Medea, Oedipus and La Gioia will be realised with the support of festival's International Productions Performance Sponsor ENKA Foundation. Waterfloor will meet the audience with the kind contribution of Institut Français Istanbul and Gazhane Museum.

La Gioia

Thursday, 4 November 20.00 / Friday, 5 November 20.00 / Zorlu Psm Drama Stage

*Italian; with Turkish subtitles

Pippo Delbono will be presented with the 25th İstanbul Theatre Festival Honorary Award after the play in November 4.

'It can bring joy where there is sadness, light where there is darkness...' That's how Pippo Delbono defines the power of theatre. Delbono was a guest at the İstanbul Theatre Festival's online programme last year with Dopo La Battaglia. This time, Delbono is once again at the festival, but with clowns by his side and with a play that is bound to be a sensation! His latest production, La Gioia, is a flower-laden ode to joy, an antidote to man's fear of death... With La Gioia, Delbono and his wonderful ensemble remind us how fragile happiness is as they celebrate life with songs, dance, stories, poetry, music, a hint of madness, fairy tale costumes, and an abundance of joy that envelops the audience. Delbono, who is constantly looking for the light in his plays, finds this light in La Gioia, his play without long-time stage collaborator Bobò who died in 2019, in unparalleled beauty, and a flood of extremely gentle emotions. Bobò and Delbono had met for the first time at a psychiatric clinic near Naples in 1996, where doctors said that Bobò 'would remain a child for the rest of his life'. A great actor, who couldn't speak, hear, read or write, was born on stage. Pippo Delbono and Bobò shared the stage for 22 years and became inseparable. La Gioia is a joyous farewell for Bobò, which is actually a lament. How would you like to take a journey through the floral garden of our memories, towards ourselves, our hopes, our endings, and our beginnings? With La Gioia, you will admire the powerful music of Antoine Bataille, be carried away by the magnificent floral creations of Thierry Boutemy, and embark on an adventure where what you learn changes with each show, every evening? We invite you to embrace life despite everything and praise the joy that sustains us... The performance is realised with valuable collaboration of Italian Cultural Center.

Oedipus

Saturday, 6 November 14.00 / 20.00 / Atlas 1948 Cinema

*Dutch; with Turkish surtitles

The extremely talented British theatre writer and director, the youngest winner of the Olivier Award for Best Director, Robert Icke has been attracting a great deal of attention with his high-profile adaptations of classical pieces. He not only carries plays such as Orwell's 1984, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Aeschylus's Oresteia to the present day but gives them a whole new meaning. Icke, Ibsen Artist in Residence at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA), which spearheads Dutch theatre with its prestigious cast and directorial team and meets the audience in many different venues around the world while also hosting major festivals, is here with the 21st century Oedipus, which has been praised by The Times as 'a superb interpretation that feels modern and timeless'. This time Oedipus, Sophocles' character that has become a staple in the history of science, is neither a psychological complex, nor a childhood experience, nor the first knot in a series of problems that need to be solved... He is a politician who has found out the greatest secret of his life! Moreover, he invites the audience to watch an election night. Hans Kest and Marieke Heebink (who has been nominated for the Theo d'Or for this role) deliver extraordinary performances as Oedipus and Jocasta, the cursed couple of centuries, reckoning with the dark histories of the characters they portray. With all of its naturalness, realism, and simplicity, we present Oedipus on the silver screen of Atlas 1948 Cinema...The performance is realised with valuable collaboration of Dutch Performing Arts.

Medea

Wednesday, 17 November 20.00 / Thursday, 18 November 20.00 / Zorlu PSM Main Stage

*Dutch; with Turkish surtitles

Praised by The Guardian as 'a raw masterpiece created by a flawless ensemble', the pioneering theatre organisation Internationaal Theater Amsterdam's (ITA) award-winning adaptation of Medea by the successful young writer and director Simon Stone, is now in İstanbul! Stone, whose new plays are always eagerly anticipated, rewrites ancient tragedy playwright Euripides' Medea in today's language and combines it with a real event. The tragedy Medea, which has been staged almost throughout history, derives its subject matter from an overwhelming, burning sense of revenge. Medea, possibly the darkest character of the theatre stage since 5th century BC, suggests that this time we take a look inside the life of an ordinary family. An American physician who goes through a difficult divorce in 1995 and sets her house on fire with two of her children inside... The play has won the Theo d'Or for the leading character played by the highly praised Marieke Heebink and was selected for the programme of the Dutch Theatre Festival in 2015. Featuring a refined yet mad Medea, who might just as well be your neighbour, in a plain and simple stage design that deeply affects the audience, the play tells the story of an incident that has never lost its aspect of shock or frequency of occurrence throughout centuries. The play awaits its audience, maybe not as an acceptance of the end result, but as a way of understanding. Is it possible to understand Medea? Let's re-examine this case, this incident and the violence it entails...The performance is realised with valuable collaboration of Dutch Performing Arts.

Waterfloor

Saturday, 30 October & Sunday, 31 October 20.00 / Gazhane Museum

Waterfloor puts in situation a body and its reflected image in a 'Water Landscape' facing the climatic upheavals of our time. Face to Face, which explores the physical commitment through immobility and a setting in movement of the body by inviting the poetics of the Water of Gaston Bachelard and the climatic upheavals, environmental disasters announced. Permanent confrontation of the dancing body in the reality of this projected space, between inside/outside, visible/invisible, frame/outside-frame. A window is drawn in the frame of the landscape, beginning of the projection, beginning of the face to face, beginning of the journey. An ardent desire to be part of the public space with absolute simplicity and a spectacular presence on the theme of water! This performance is realised with the kind contribution of Institut Français Istanbul and Gazhane Museum.Free of charge.

ONLINE SCREENINGS OF INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTIONS

The online screenings of the international productions of the festival will be realised with the support of festival's International Productions Performance Sponsor ENKA Foundation.

The Bear

22 October - 20 November / www.passostudio.com

*Russian; with Turkish subtitles

Can there be a story about ordinary people? Would anyone be interested in the everyday trials, problems that are not very 'literary', foolish searches, or strange situations people find themselves in during their lives? Even though it seems insignificant, Anton Chekhov chose to focus on the mundane in all of his plays, leaving a deep mark on world literature with his subtle and unique sense of humour. Chekhov renders the complex world of man visible with sharp detail. In The Bear, which he repeatedly rewrote, he criticizes the social view of the period in his unique style. In the play, the squabbles between a woman mourning the death of her husband and a man nicknamed 'The Bear' who arrives to collect her husband's debt are told in a very humorous manner. This game between the duo, which goes back and forth on the fringes of hate and love, offers the audience something beyond situational comedy as it also sheds light on the rarely addressed quirks of romance. Director Vladimir Pankov's interpretation of The Bear, which is a co-production of the Moscow Playwright and Director Centre and Chekhov International Theatre Festival, invites us to a laughter-filled theatre session. You may follow the screening of the performance with tickets via passostudio.com from 22 October to 20 November. The play is presented with kind collaboration of Golden Mask Russian Performing Arts Festival in "Golden Mask in İstanbul Online" section.

Boris

22 October - 20 November / www.passostudio.com

*Russian; with Turkish subtitles

A simple, realistic, and poetic language is united with a notion of acting that has its roots in the beginning of contemporary theatre history... Boris, which made its mark this year with multiple nominations in one of Russia's foremost theatre awards, The Golden Mask, is taking part in the İstanbul Theatre Festival's online screenings programme.The relationship between man and power in Aleksandr Pushkin's tragedy Boris Godunov, which was inspired by William Shakespeare's historic dramas, is brought to life with the ground-breaking interpretation of the play's director Dmitry Krymov. Producer of the show has stated 'With all due respect to Pushkin, Boris is Krymov's play. In fact, it's even more daring...' A tragic end awaits us in Boris' adventure of gaining power... The pollution of all the elements that create power becomes more pronounced with the ironic elements that we often encounter in our daily lives. Boris was originally staged at the Moscow Museum, which is also of great importance to the play. This museum, where history becomes tangible, also bears the traces of all the rulers who were overthrown. For Krymov, bringing the authentic museum pieces together with the theatre is much more important than the parallels between the polluted past and the reality of today... Krymov, one of the brilliant directors of contemporary Russian theatre, both deconstructs the classical text and makes a historical inquiry with Boris, presenting the audience a very memorable play. You may follow the screening of the performance with tickets via www.passostudio.com from 22 October to 20 November. The play is presented with kind collaboration of Golden Mask Russian Performing Arts Festival in "Golden Mask in İstanbul Online" section.

Children of the Sun

22 October - 20 November / www.passostudio.com

*Russian; with Turkish subtitles

The successful young Russian director, Timofei Kulyabin, who has gained further admiration with every play he has staged, is brought to your screens with a brand-new adaptation of Maxim Gorky's Children of the Sun. Kulyabin is an artist who is firmly committed to the power of interpretation; he favours realistically re-staging classical texts... Children of the Sun is a play with very impressive stage language that will keep the audience captive until the end. In this brilliant Kulyabin adaptation that was beautifully re-written for the stage by Olga Fedyanina, we will witness Gorky's descriptions of the deep divide between intellectuals and common folk before the 1905 Revolution intertwining with transcripts of speeches by Russian scientists, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk at Stanford University. Unlike Gorky's protagonists, who scurry around in the silence before the storm, Kulyabin's characters find themselves in an airtight space on the Stanford University campus in 1999. The atmosphere before the 1905 Revolution is this time felt in the field of a technological revolution. The play focuses on emotions, which Kulyabin approaches as a space to explore experience and narrative. While Children of the Sun questions the sides of two separate times stuck in a moment of great change, it allows us to direct our attention to a present-day threshold: Do the children of the sun and darkness still exist, and if they do, exactly where do they stand? You may follow the screening of the performance with tickets via www.passostudio.com from 22 October to 20 November. The play is presented with kind collaboration of Golden Mask Russian Performing Arts Festival in "Golden Mask in İstanbul Online" section.

Betroffenheit

22 October - 20 November / www.passostudio.com

*English; with Turkish subtitles

In 2017, the choreographer Crystal Pite, who was a guest of the İstanbul Theatre Festival as part of Nederlands Dans Theater 1, had received a standing ovation that lasted several minutes for The Statement, and gained the deep admiration of the festival audience. While that unforgettable show continues to retain its effect, our audiences will have the chance to see another show by Pite, Betroffenheit, which has been described by dance critics as the best of 2016 and by The Guardian as 'the best dance show of the 21st century.' Betroffenheit was recorded live at Sadler's Wells Theatre in 2017 and won the prestigious Olivier Award for 'Best New Dance Production' the following year, as well as the Rose d'Or Award and Czech Crystal Award at the Golden Prague... Pite co-created the show with award-winning actor and writer Jonathon Young. Betroffenheit is a mix of theatre and dance that pushes boundaries, exploring the psychological states of trauma, grief, and addiction. Combining tap and salsa, spoken word poetry, singing, and puppeteering with Pite's emotionally charged choreography, Betroffenheit is a witty and affectionate exploration of what it means to face disconnection, isolation, and the tragedies of life... Described as raw and immersive, the five the talented dancer/actors in this genre-bending dance-theatre hybrid are inspired by the true story of the traumatic event in which Jonathon Young lost his daughter, niece, and nephew, thus offering a breath-taking example of what can happen when life transforms into art.

Revisor

22 October - 20 November / www.passostudio.com

*English; with Turkish subtitles

Signed by Canadian star choreographer Crystal Pite and actor Jonathon Young, with outstanding performances by Kidd Pivot dancers, and with Gogol's unique humour: Revisor is brought to your screens as part of the festival! An associate artist at Sadler's Wells NDT and Canada National Arts Center, well known to festivalgoers and highly admired for her choreography, Pite fuses dance and theatre in an unforgettable project with co-creator writer and actor Young. The Revisor embodies the conflict, comedy, and corruption in Gogol's The Government Inspector with the recorded dialogue/voices of Canada's best actors and the strong relationship between language and body. Recorded in March 2020, Kidd Pivot's incredible dancers lip-sync with the recorded words of the actors on stage accompanied by a soundtrack, exposing Pite's creative power with an extremely impressive sense of humor. Described in the Vancouver Sun as 'a stunning, unforgettable performance...every element in this remarkable piece contributes to its dynamic synthesis of movement, voice and text, light, sound, set and the imaginative vision of its creators....', Revisor exceeds all expectations and you'll find yourself wanting to watch it again.

Créer Aujourd'hui

22 October - 20 November / www.passostudio.com

*French; with Turkish subtitles

Four breath-taking works by four contemporary choreographers describing our present-day... Paris Opera and Ballet's dance director Aurélie Dupont invited four international choreographers to create four brand new ballet pieces and presented the following question: What does the idea of creating in the field of dance, which has been reshaped and restricted by the global pandemic, mean to you today? Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Damien Jalet, Tess Voelker, Mehdi Kerkouche responded to this question at different venues and stages of the historical stage of the Palais Garnier, with dancers from the Paris Opera's 'Principal Dancers' (Les Premiers Danseurs) and Corps de Ballet. With gorgeous choreography in the ballets titled Exposure, Clouds Inside, Et Si, and Brise-Lames, Palais Garnier's impressive corridors, walls, stage, rehearsal rooms, and even cellars became spaces and stages for the four choreographer's exploration of the question 'What does it mean to create today?' The show begins with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Exposure, which instantly captures our hearts with music from Wookid's latest album S16 and Chanel's costumes. Sidi Larbi is followed by NDT dancer Tess Volker's choreography Clouds Inside. Next is the poignant work Brise-Lames by the famous Belgian choreographer Damien Jalet. Mehdi Kerkouche takes the stage with hip-hop immediately afterward. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui has stated that, even with masks, there was great pleasure in sharing suggestions for creating a body that moves, stands, waves and jumps. He has added that despite successive cancellations, it was crucial to bring the work to audiences with the recording of what happened on the stage of the Palais Garnier. These pieces, which are likely candidates of being one of the most important records of surviving with art, are presented in the online programme of the İstanbul Theatre Festival...

Alice

22 October - 20 November / www.passostudio.com

In this version by de Stilte, author Lewis Carroll is a gentleman with dubious intentions. By masquerading in various animal guises, he seeks the favours of three lovely Alice's. But these three girls were not born yesterday and the writer's true intentions are laid bare. Choreographer Jack Timmermans, who intentionally encouraged the young spectators to let their imagination run free, turned the well-known children's book into an idiosyncratic mixture of dance, shadow theatre and pantomime. The performance is realised with the valuable collaboration of Dutch Performing Arts.

ONLINE SCREENINGS OF LOCAL PRODUCTIONS

The Open Couple

22 October - 20 November / www.passostudio.com

The Open Couple (Coppia aperta, quasi spalancata) by Italian couple Dario Fo and Franca Rame, who have created examples of dissident, revolutionary and sarcastic 'people's theatre' in every work they have produced, especially the Women's Plays series, is at the festival as a Podacto production. The sound theatre project Podacto revives the once indispensable tradition of radio theatre by moving the theatre into a podcast environment. The plays of the company, which describes itself as an 'ear theatre', have become a digital play archive of sorts and are entrusted to the voice performances of the most competent names of their generation. Produced exclusively for the festival with quality sound design, The Open Couple features the interpretations of Alican Yücesoy and Esra Dermancıoğlu. A part of Dario Fo and Franca Rame's unique Women's Plays series, The Open Couple is a striking play with its feminist perspective, full of fun and sarcasm that cross-examines the inequality between men and women in the institution of marriage through sexuality. The play reminds men that 'when an open couple is open on both sides, there's a draught' while it also sends a flashy salute to the countless women who have trapped themselves in marriage over the years without even realizing it, inspiring women to open the doors of their lives.

Waiting For Godot

22 October - 20 November / www.passostudio.com

The sound theatre project Podacto had revived the once indispensable tradition of radio theatre by moving the theatre into a podcast environment. The plays of the company, which describes itself as an 'ear theatre', have become a digital play archive of sorts and are entrusted to the voice performances of the most competent names of their generation. Produced exclusively for the festival, Waiting for Godot is the newest edition to these recordings which are made with quality sound designs well-suited to the plays. Samuel Beckett's seminal work, which was written over half a century ago and has become one of the cornerstones of absurd theatre by being regarded as an influential 'contemporary classic' throughout the history of modern times, meets the festival audience in the form of ear theatre. The endless wait of contrasting characters Vladimir and Estragon, who sway between hope, despair, helplessness, and apathy, has corresponded in all periods to the situation of contemporary people in real life awaiting 'salvation'.

A Room of One's Own

22 October - 20 November / www.passostudio.com

A Room of One's Own, which has become a classic as one of the seminal scripts of the women's movement as well as the history of literature, meets the festival audience delivered by Tiyatro Boyalı Kuş, which has over twenty years of feminist theatre experience. Born from Virginia Woolf's lectures in 1928 on 'women and fiction' at Girton and Newnham women's constituent colleges, A Room of One's Own turns into a 'multi-voiced' ear theatre production with Jale Karabekir's translation and adaptation. The script, where Woolf traces female writers in a period from the 16th to the 20th century, presents its audience with instances of gender inequality, masculine violence and systematic disregard of women throughout history. This Woolf classic, which is a striking expression of how women locked between four walls are rendered invisible while they bear the 'passion for creating fiction' and how life and art had been submitted to a single-gender for centuries, takes on a new dimension with a speaker-actor and actors who voice her thoughts. Tiyatro Boyalı Kuş, aspiring to add a new voice to Woolf's world of images and her journey between reality and fiction, adapt her work as an ear theatre that observes the author's temporal and spatial leaps, multiple and variable perspectives, and inner monologue and stream of consciousness techniques. The performance is realised with kind collaboration of Podacto and with the support of Odeabank, sponsor of the festival's theme titled 'A Woman's Hand'.

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