22nd State Theaters – Sabancı International Adana Theater Festival

The “State Theaters – Sabancı International Adana Theater Festival” organized with support from the Sabancı Foundation meets with the audience for the 22st time

22nd State Theaters – Sabancı International Adana Theater Festival

The “State Theaters – Sabancı International Adana Theater Festival” organized with support from the Sabancı Foundation meets with the audience for the 22st time

The “State Theaters – Sabancı International Adana Theater Festival” organized with support from the Sabancı Foundation meets with the audience for the 22st time

The State Theaters – Sabancı International Adana Theater Festival, organized by the cooperation of the Sabancı Foundation and the Directorate General of State Theaters, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, opened its curtains for the 22nd time on May 24. The Festival opening was celebrated in the presence of Adana Governor Süleyman Elban, Mustafa Kurt, General Director of State Theaters, and Nevgül Bilsel Safkan, General Manager of the Sabancı Foundation, and Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism, sent with a video message. The Festival started with Tiyatrokare’s emotional comedy “Trees Dies Standing”.

Nevgül Bilsel Safkan, General Manager of the Sabancı Foundation, made her speech. “We are delighted to be together for the opening of the State Theaters - Sabancı International Adana Theater Festival," she said and continued, "Today, we are excited to meet for theater in Adana for the 22nd time, even with a social distance. We know that you wait for our festival with longing and excitement as well. The Sabancı Foundation has been working for 47 years with the goal of contributing to social development in the light of the principles put forward by Hacı Ömer Sabancı. We see that art has a great power when working towards this goal. The Sabancı Foundation has supported art by building theaters, cultural centers and museums since its early years. A prominent example of this support is Adana Hacı Ömer Sabancı Cultural Center. The capacity of the center has significantly increased with the addition of the Sabancı Chamber Theater two years ago. The Foundation embraces art in many areas, just like this festival and institutions, and offers intensive support. All the arts we support are important to us. However, the International Adana Theater Festival, initiated by Sakıp Sabancı, is very special to us. Since 2005, the 'Sakıp Sabancı Lifetime Achievement Award' has been presented at the opening night of the Festival. This award is offered to show our respect for those masters who have made important contributions to the theater and this year, we will present the award to Nevra Serezli, the doyenne of Turkish actresses. I would like to congratulate her in advance.”

"Sakıp Sabancı Lifetime Achievement Award" handed over to Nevra Serezli

The “Sakıp Sabancı Lifetime Achievement Award”, which has been offered since 2005 to pay homage to masters who have played a profound role in the development of the art of drama, went to Nevra Serezli this year and she accepted her award on stage before her performance.

Festival has all measures ready against the pandemic

In the festival, a limited audience will be hosted this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and all measures will be taken, and the plays will be staged in Adana Central Park Amphitheater Park and Hacı Ömer Sabancı Cultural Center.

Before the performances, body temperature of the audience will be measured and their HES codes checked. The audience will be allowed into the hall once they have their ticket QR code scanned without contact.

18 plays will meet the audience at the Festival

The Adana Theater Festival is going to host 18 different plays, performed by 9 state theaters, 7 private theaters and 1 city theater from all across Turkey.

For more information about the plays, please refer to the festival brochure.

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