Ses 1885 (Ortaoyuncular Theater)
In Beyoğlu, we find many very special theaters. The most famous of the Istanbul stages, Ortaoyuncular – also known as Ses 1885 – is a majestic 128-year-old building with velvet seats, embossed ceilings and stylish lodges. The Ses Theater, which is one of the few historical buildings with a Hünkar lodge today, was designed in 1885 by renowned architect Patrokli Campanaki. Featuring world-standard acoustics, the Hall became the famous Ortaoyuncular Theater of Ferhan Şensoy, serving for 87 years as a theater and 17 years as a cinema. You can still watch Ferhangi Şeyler today, in this magnificent structure where history resonates.
İkincikat
A small alternative theater… Now we are in Karaköy at the Black Box. The Black Box is not a classical theater hall: the audience and actors are side by side, creating a different kind of intimacy. There are no curtains, no velvet seats, no carved ceilings. Aside from black walls and chairs, sometimes there isn’t even a set. Converted from an old workshop and founded by four friends from Yıldız Technical University Theater Club, İkincikat is one of the most prominent independent and alternative theaters in our country. While the room may feel empty, the plays themselves fill the space with eloquence.
Edirne State Theater
How does a place where camels were stabled become a theater? Built in 1609, during the reign of Sultan Ahmet I, the Ekmekçizade Ahmet Pasha Caravanserai was described in Evliya Çelebi’s Seyahatname as having “a capacity of 200 hearts and one thousand horses”. Now, the Caravanserai serves as the Edirne State Theater, where history and modernity come together. Featuring an expansive courtyard, closed areas and an 850-square-meter “camel” section, the former Caravanserai is transformed into a theater stage with a capacity of 220 people and special lighting systems. Blending the legendary Silk Road markers with today’s fairy tales, this Theater is a most fascinating place.
Ankara Küçük Theater
Among Ankara’s stages is a little theater with a big story. It is the “small giant theater” in Ankara, as they say. The small stage of the Ankara State Theater, an architectural gem, is actually the Evkaf Apartment, on a narrow street in old Ankara. The former set and costume warehouse under the building was converted into a theater hall in 1947 by Muhsin Ertuğrul with the support of the government. It has hosted hundreds of plays and millions of theatergoers since the late 1940s. The dome of the building provides excellent acoustics and it is particularly wonderful for children’s plays. Get your ticket and get ready for a big leap into time.
Krek
The Krek Theater, founded by Berkun Oya and Ali Atay in 1998, is one of the most interesting on this list. The Company, which has received many awards and performed original works since its foundation in Istanbul, does not actually have a fixed location. After closing their stages at Bilgi University Eyüp Campus, Krek appeared again, in 2019, at Volkswagen Arena with a surprise. What makes Krek unique is not exterior architecture but the way the Company reconsiders theater and the stage. The play is performed behind glass on the stage and spectators listen via headphones at their seats. Leave your expectations at home and follow Krek into a completely different experience.
İzmir State Theater
A 92-year-old veteran of the Izmir State Theater, the Konak Stage offers an ambiance where history and art blend seamlessly. It is a unique address for theater lovers, due to its fascinating architecture. After a long restoration process, the stage in Konak Square has all the technical equipment necessary for contemporary theater. Enjoy a coffee in the garden, enjoy the historical atmosphere and definitely watch a play in its magnificent acoustic hall. Of course, it isn’t that easy to get tickets!
Zorlu Center PSM
Zorlu PSM, which made a global impact and has hosted international events since its opening, is an enormous technological wonder set on 55 acres in the middle of Istanbul. Zorlu has world-standard theater halls that can accommodate almost every type of performance. The Grand Hall, with a capacity of 2,262 people, can host Broadway shows and West End musicals. The 738-seat Small Hall, as well as several other stages of different sizes and capacities, feature high-end advanced sound systems. Zorlu PSM continues to excite theater fans with new productions every day. Get your ticket and come to Zorlu for a show, a play, a concert and more!
Ali Paşa Han
We want to conclude this list with a special stage: It is a commercial inn, built in 1712 and located in the Küçükpazar district of Eminönü in Istanbul. The playwright Genco Erkal visited this inn when he was a child and, years later, turned it into the Dostlar Theater. Ali Pasha Han, which hosts the plays of Erkal and the Dostlar Theater in the spring and summer months, is the most exclusive stage in Istanbul. You will always remember the feeling of watching a play in the open air, shaded by grapevines, on a stage with more than 300 years of history.
Ankara Opera Stage
Meet one of the most beautiful buildings of Ankara. Ankara Opera Stage, also known as Ankara State Opera and Ballet Building, is one of the most iconic structures of the republican period in Türkiye.
The Exhibition House (also known as the Exhibition Palace), built in 1933 under the leadership of the famous architect Şevki Balmumcu, who won the international competition opened in 1931, was converted into an Opera House by the German architect Paul Bonatz in 1947-48. Paul Bonatz was one of the pioneers of the Second National Architecture Movement in the 1940s, when he was in Türkiye. Among the best-known examples of this architectural movement, there are distinguished works that we can call the modern interpretation of Ottoman and Seljuk architecture such as Anıtkabir, Çanakkale Martyrs’ Monument and Istanbul Radio House. In this sense, the Ankara Opera Stage is one of the most well-known structures of the Second National Architectural Movement.
Ankara Opera Stage, which was opened on April 2, 1948, continues to be one of the most important stages in Türkiye in terms of both its architectural style and historical significance.
