Istanbul Theater Festival lifts its curtains in Turkish metropolis

ISTANBUL

The 25th Istanbul Theater Festival, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), kicked off yesterday in Turkey’s largest city.

The festival will present the audience with a program extending from in-person productions to online screenings, from “ear theater” to complimentary panels, talks and reading theaters over the course of one month.

The event will host a total of 24 plays, performances and dance shows from Turkey and abroad until Nov. 20.
While online screenings will be accessible from throughout Turkey, in-person performances of the festival will meet the audiences at various stages across Istanbul in compliance with measures against COVID-19.

Although the events will take place at the weekend as part of the festival are online, the curtains will be lifted for an expected play by a prominent artist on Oct. 25.

“Dust” with prominent Turkish actress Zerrin Tekindor, “the Labourer” with Emre Kınay’s performances, and “Confrontation” written by Zehra İpşiroğlu will meet Istanbul audience for the first time during the festival, along with other productions.

This year the Honorary Awards of the festival will be presented to writer and academic Ayşegül Yüksel and Italian director Pippo Delbono.

Although the events will take place on the weekend as part of the festival is online, the curtains will be lifted for a highly-expected play on Oct. 25, “the Labourer,” a collage of excerpts from Shakespeare’s plays ranging from Macbeth to Romeo and Juliet, from Twelfth Night to The Merchant of Venice.

Under the direction of Emrah Eren, on a stage set on a construction site in Duru Ataşehir, theater lovers will watch the performance of Kınay and witness a personal tragedy flowing over from the age of Shakespeare to present day.