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German director Thomas Ostermeier, one of Europe's best-known theater makers, will stage his first production in Türkiye, a two-actor drama that opens at Istanbul's Zorlu PSM on Nov. 3.
The play "Degisim-Donusum" (Change-Transformation) was written by Maja Zade, a German playwright and the Schaubuhne's head of dramaturgy.
It brings together Turkish actors Timucin Esen and Funda Eryigit, who will play 22 characters between them.
It was first staged in 2004 as "Changes" under Ostermeier's direction at the Schaubuhne in Berlin. Esen adapted Zade's text into Turkish.
The production is a collaboration between Tatli Eksi Tiyatro, PMPEX and Antitez Sahne Sanatları. Rehearsals began in July in the Aegean resort town of Bodrum and are continuing in Istanbul.
The story centers on Mine and Tarik, a married couple who appear successful from the outside. Mine is a politician in the middle of an election campaign. Tarik has left a law career to become a teacher and is struggling with a past addiction.
What begins as an ordinary day turns into a reckoning when the truths the two have kept from each other come out. They are forced to question their marriage, their careers and the values they stand for.
The play explores the clash between personal change and a person's principles through themes of love, loyalty, addiction, power and conscience. At its heart is the question of whether people can truly change.
Ostermeier has been part of the artistic leadership of the Schaubuhne in Berlin since 1999 and is known for his fresh interpretations of classic and contemporary texts. His honors include the Golden Lion from the Venice Biennale.
In 2025, he directed Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull" at London's Barbican Theatre, with Cate Blanchett in the lead role.
"Degisim-Donusum" will be the first theater production Ostermeier has directed in Türkiye.
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