A season of plays performed in Turkish with English surtitles
Tuesday 27 – Saturday 31 May
At the Tower Theatre, Stoke Newington
Uykusuz bir Rüya- Salim
Buy Tickets :
Tuesday May 27 at 7:30pm
Salim lives with his family in Adana until he’s sent to Istanbul to live with his uncle. While working at his uncle’s kebab shop, what he witnesses pulls him down a path with no return. Once again, Salim finds himself face to face with the feeling he knows best—helplessness. And fate plays yet another cruel trick on him. Salim turns to the audience and asks: Which is harder—regret or fate?
Written by: Berkay Ateş
Directed by: Yiğit Sertdemir
Performed by: Berkay Ateş
Movement Design: Özge Midilli
Music & Sound Design: Emrah Can Yaylı
Design Concept: Başak Özdoğan & Yiğit Sertdemir
Stage Design Implementation: Bilen Bilmen
Lighting Design: İsmail Sağır & Yiğit Sertdemir
Photography: Ayşegül Karacan
Poster Design: Berkcan Okar
Assistant Director: Burhan Akaray
One act / 80 minutes
Recommended age: 12+
Join us for a post-show Q&A with Berkay Ateş to dive deeper into his views on theatre, life, and his own creative journey.
The Third Culture Collective Concert
Buy Tickets :
Tuesday May 27 at 10:00pm
The Third Culture Collective is a groundbreaking artistic project born from the intersection of diverse cultures and creative expressions. Our mission is to explore the transformative power of music as a unifying force, blending ethnic sounds, jazz, and psychedelic influences into immersive live experiences.
Through real-time improvisation and collaboration with visual artists, we create performances that are more than concerts—they are journeys of connection, healing, and storytelling. The collective invites audiences not just to watch but to become part of an evolving narrative, where art transcends boundaries and resonates on a deeply personal level.
Join us for this remarkable event as we redefine the boundaries of sound, culture, and community.
Jomy Jai on Keys & Electronics
Salih Korkut Peker on Electro Cümbüş / Double Neck (çağlama-fretless guitar)
Gökhan Demirdöğmez on G Klarinet
Cana Çankaya on Trumpet
James Heggarty on drums
90 minutes
Ama Ya Doğru Söylüyorsa
Buy Tickets :
Wednesday May 28 at 2:30pm
Friday May 30 at 2:30pm
Saturday May 31 at 7:30pm
“There’s no such thing as an economic crisis. The economy is the crisis.” —Henrik Ibsen
What is the economy? It’s a massive playground where everything is bought and sold, where money and resources are exchanged. But what do we mean to the economy? Are we just numbers? Are we the subject—or the object—of the economy?
But What If He’s Telling the Truth? answers these questions in a playful, wild way. It’s not just a commentary on the economy—it’s an experience that questions what it means to be human in this vast system. With its grotesque style, it sweeps the audience from place to place, never standing still—and just when you least expect it, fun erupts!
Cast: Ali Selman Burak, Arslan Burak Bozdağ, Ayser Ali, Cemal Karakuş, Gül İpek Yurttaş, Hatice Uğuz, Kemal Yılmam, Melek Çetinkaya, Müzeyyen Taşpınar, Nazlı Ulusoy, Özlem Aydın, Semra Şahinoğlu, Serap Subaşı, Sezen Bölücek, Suzan Onbaşı, Zeynep Gökkaya
Adapted by: Fatih Dönmez from Almost Equal To by Jonas Hassen Khemiri
Directed by: Eda Çatalçam & Fatih Dönmez
Lighting & Set Design: Fatih Dönmez
Poster & Graphics: Bilal Tatar
Duration: 90 minutes (Two acts)
Recommended age: +12
9/8’lik Kıyamet
Buy Tickets :
Wednesday May 28 at 7:30pm
Near future… In a world struck by climate crisis! Something like an apocalypse has happened—but not quite! Outcasts known as the “Parasites” emerge, unwanted by any country. One boy: Diyar! A storyteller of this new society. Every evening, by the fire, Diyar recounts tales of the apocalypse’s early days to the Parasites, accompanied by his drum.
A story of betrayal!
Early days of the climate crisis. We are in Istanbul! Starvation, rebellion, and a conservative movement called “Izan” that turns crisis into opportunity. And a mysterious girl—Leylâ—who changes Diyar’s entire story.
In a time of great fires, diseases, migrations, searing heat, hunger and thirst, one question rises above all: As the world we know slips away, whose hand will we hold? Who will we stand with?
Written by: Şâmil Yılmaz
Directed by: Sezen Keser
Performed by: Oğulcan Arman Uslu
Duration: 70 minutes
Recommended Age: +16
After the show, join Sezen Keser for a Q&A to reflect on this play, performed to sold-out audiences for six seasons.
Keşke Anlattıklarım Yalan Olsa
Buy Tickets :
Thursday May 29 at 2:30pm
Friday May 30 at 7:30pm
Saturday May 31 at 2:30pm
“How can this world feel as familiar as my own home, while my home feels as foreign as the world? Tell me.” —Orhan Pamuk
Sometimes life feels more dystopian than our imagination can handle. What makes these stories dystopian is how close they are to becoming real. I Wish I Were Lying tells fragmented stories of people trying to make this world their home—through contradictions, realism, and absurdity. This play offers a colorful and engaging journey beyond borders and cultures, inviting us to meet in a shared spirit.
Adapted by: Eda Çatalçam & Fatih Dönmez from Matei Vișniec’s The Refugees
Directed by: Eda Çatalçam & Fatih Dönmez
Lighting Design: Fatih Dönmez
Set Design: Eda Çatalçam & Fatih Dönmez
Poster & Graphics: Bilal Tatar
Cast: Aras Özken, Aylin Yüzeirova, Eda Çatalçam, Derya Yıldırım, Eylem Öztürk, Fatih Dönmez, İlhan Fındık, Mehmet Ali Aslan, Nuray Kuş, Oya Er Wilkes, Özge Gül, Sakine Çoban, Seval Kaynaroğlu, Sevil Üremen, Tuba Döner, Tülin Amoretti, Yağmur Güneş
Duration: 70 minutes (One act)
Recommended age: +12
Dansöz
Buy Tickets :
Thursday May 29 at 7:30pm
This is the story of Meryem, a lost little girl unnoticed even by her mother. Meryem carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. One day, everything changes when she hears music—suddenly, her story takes a different turn. She discovers the lightness in her body through oriental dance, rooted in ancient rituals.
As eyes begin to turn toward her for the first time, Meryem realizes that being seen comes with its own burden. Sometimes, being seen is the heaviest weight of all.
From there on… it’s the apocalypse.
“The desert has only one eye—and it belongs to God. Dance as if only His gaze is upon you…”
Written & Directed by: Şâmil Yılmaz
Performed by: Sezen Keser
Duration: 60 min.
Recommended Age: +16
After the show, join Sezen Keser for a Q&A to reflect on this play, performed to sold-out audiences for six seasons.
Lemonade Turkish Comedy Club
Buy Tickets :
Friday May 30 at 9:30pm
The unmissable trio of Lemonade Turkish Comedy Club — Eren Erdoğan, Suat Eroğlu, and Yunus Dalgıç — are hitting the stage for the 2nd Annual Seasonal Actors Theatre Week, ready to soothe your sorrows, heal your woes, and stretch your smiles like yoga for your face.
Because honestly, you all look amazing when you laugh.
Tiyatro Göçer mi?
Saturday 31 May at 5:00pm
Free
Join us for a special talk with Fatih Dönmez and Memet Ali Alabora – free of charge for those who have a ticket to one of the other Turkish Theatre Festival shows! Just show your ticket at the entrance.
A deep, inspiring conversation on theatre awaits you.
Don’t miss it!