The 22nd Istanbul Theatre Festival lasted for 18 days.

Between 17 November and 4 December, 2018, 12 theatre, dance and performance companies from abroad and 12 others from Turkey had taken the stages 56 times.

Close to 25,000 people had seen the festival performances, filling 97% of all the seats.

1,500 people attended 11 admission-free side events. Roberto Latini, director and actor of Il Teatro Comico, was among the workshop holders in the side events programme.

The side events programme of the festival hosted a talk with Evgeny Mironov, who mesmerised the festivalgoers with his performance in Robert Lepage-directed Hamlet | Collage.

Young dancers found the opportunity to experiment with the various movements and techniques of hip-hop, and create mini choreographies of their own in a workshop held by the dancers of PIXEL.

Students enjoyed discounts in festival fares. Six thousand students purchased their tickets for only TL 10, with the support of the Koç Energy Group Companies Aygaz, Opet, and Tüpraş.

İKSV Culture&Art Card holders got together with the crew of the play Talk About the Passion.

The total duration of the festival performances was 4,365 minutes.

One of the most stunning companies of contemporary dance, Nederlands Dans Theater I was at the festival with four different choreographies.

35 dancers and actors/actresses from abroad and 82 others from Turkey took the festival stages.

A homage to the silent film era, Pss Pss was one of the performances that received a standing ovation from the festival audience.

Director Theodoros Terzopoulos introduced his acting method based on the release of suppressed energy to actors/actresses in Istanbul with a workshop.

A renowned actor from Russia, Evgeny Mironov, received the Honorary Award of the 22nd Istanbul Theatre Festival from the hands of the festival director Leman Yılmaz, after his breath-taking performance in Hamlet | Collage.

A pioneering actress of cinema and theatre Zeliha Berksoy received her Honorary Award from İKSV Chairman, Bülent Eczacıbaşı.

The festival took place in 21 different venues on both sides of the Bosphorus. Abud Efendi Mansion hosted the festival for the first time with the performance 45’s, choreographed by the contemporary dance artist Tuğçe Tuna.

The showcase programme of the festival “International Platform” that was inaugurated four years ago to help local festival performances to make their international debuts in festivals and institutions abroad, hosted 15 theatre professionals from 8 countries this year.