30th Istanbul Theatre Festival Program Announced
At the presentation ceremony of the 30th Istanbul Theatre Festival, the Honorary Award was presented to Tilbe Saran; the festival will take place between October 22 and December 3, 2026.
The award and program presentation ceremony for the thirtieth edition of the Istanbul Theatre Festival has been held. Many local and foreign productions will meet with art lovers within the scope of the festival.
Introductory Night and Award Ceremony
The award and program presentation ceremony of the 30th Istanbul Theatre Festival was held last night at The Marmara Hotel Taksim. Hosted by Salih Bademci, the night introduced the productions that will meet with audiences this year.
At the ceremony, the Istanbul Theatre Festival Honorary Award was presented to theatre artist Tilbe Saran. Receiving the award, Saran stated that the traces left by the festival in its history's memory gave her the greatest sense of hope.
Statements from the Culture and Art World
İKSV Chairman of the Board Bülent Eczacıbaşı emphasized that the festival has been an important culture and art platform bringing together artists from Turkey and the world in Istanbul since 1989.
Mehmet Birkiye, who has undertaken the curatorship of the festival for three years, stated that theatre artists will not surrender to darkness, while Programming Manager Handan Uzal Dündar shared the details of the program.
Festival Program and Schedule
The 30th Istanbul Theatre Festival will kick off on October 22 with a production titled Lacrima by Caroline Guiela Nguyen and will continue until December 3, 2026.
Throughout the festival, NDT 2, Dmitry Krymov's Requiem, and Marah Haj Hussein's plays titled Language is Not the Problem will be staged, and the closing will be made with an adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray.