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The 30th Istanbul Theatre Festival will open on Oct. 22 with Lacrima, a production directed by French theater director Caroline Guiela Nguyen, kicking off a program of 17 theater, dance and performance productions from Türkiye and abroad that will run through Dec. 3.
Organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) and curated by Mehmet Birkiye, the festival will bring together international productions, contemporary dance and performances exploring Istanbul's history and cultural memory.
The opening production, Lacrima, will take the stage at Zorlu Performing Arts Center (Zorlu PSM) on Oct. 22-23, following performances at major international venues and festivals, including the 2024 Avignon Festival, London's Barbican, Berlin's Schaubuhne and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Nguyen, director of the Theatre National de Strasbourg in France, will also lead a masterclass focusing on Lacrima at Fiba Salon IKSV on Oct. 21 as part of Festival Plus, a parallel program featuring workshops, discussions and book club gatherings.
The opening weekend will also feature Leaning Tree (Ruzgar Agaci), a contemporary dance production by Brazilian choreographer Fernando Melo.
Originally created for Danish Dance Theatre in 2023, the work has been reimagined for the festival through a collaboration between IKSV, the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet (IDOB) and its contemporary dance company MDTistanbul.
The production, supported by the IKSV Young Artist Fund, will be performed at the Ataturk Cultural Center (AKM) Theater Hall on Oct. 24-25.
Several productions will turn to Istanbul's streets, historical buildings and forgotten stories, drawing on the city's cultural heritage to explore identity, memory and belonging.
Directed by festival curator Mehmet Birkiye, And Fire Consumes Us (Ve Ates Bizi Tuketiyor) is adapted by Muge Oskay from Murat Gulsoy's novel of the same name. The production follows the search for an elderly man who disappears into Istanbul's streets at night, gradually unfolding into an exploration of personal identity and the past.
Combining puppetry, masks, choreography and music, the play will be staged at the Bakirkoy Leyla Gencer Opera and Arts Center on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
Another site-specific production will revisit the scandal-filled Istanbul portrayed by historian Resad Ekrem Kocu. Adapted for the stage by Lara Lakay, the performance follows the story of Rabia Hanim, a woman whose unconventional lifestyle challenged social norms in 17th-century Istanbul, alongside the troubled relationship between two young lovers, Yusuf and Letaif.
Set inside a functioning auction house, the production will bring together live music, contemporary storytelling and an immersive auction experience at the historic Phebus Auction House in Asmalimescit on Oct. 24-25.
Meanwhile, A Dowry Agreement (Bir Ceyiz Sozlesmesi), written by Elif Ozge Maltepe and directed by Murat Daltaban, will revisit a document dating back 129 years to a wedding in Istanbul's Yenikoy neighborhood.
Based on archival research by Orhan Turker, the performance examines property, labor and social relationships through a historical agreement read aloud inside the Yenikoy Panayia Orthodox Church, where it will be presented from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1.
The festival's established Istanbul Mon Amour project will return with a new production by BAM Istanbul, marking the theater collective's 10th anniversary.
Written and directed by Murat Mahmutyazicioglu, "Istanbul Mon Amour | Love > Hate < Love" will explore love, hatred, memory and belonging through three interconnected stories set in Kadikoy, on Istanbul's Asian side.
Featuring Damla Sonmez, Ceren Kacar, Selen Ozturk, Sevda Deniz Karali and Melis Oz, the production will unfold across Istanbul Saint-Joseph French High School, Yeldegirmeni Sanat and Komunite on Nov. 21-22.
Another production, "Artist Unknown: Ivi Was Here" (Sanatcisi Belirsiz: Ivi Buradaydi), will trace the largely forgotten story of Ivi Stangali, an Istanbul-born Greek painter.
Conceived and directed by Zeynep Ozden and Elif Sozer, and written by Cigdem Erdol, the play will feature Tilbe Saran, Fulya Peker and Cagdas Ekin Sisman portraying different periods of the artist's life.
Performances will take place at Arter Karbon on Nov. 3-4 and the Bakirkoy Leyla Gencer Opera and Arts Center on Nov. 17. The Nov. 17 performance will include English surtitles, with actress Tilbe Saran receiving the festival's honorary award afterward.
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