Artist Unknown* Ivi was here: A theatre play by Elif Sözer and Zeynep Özden
In November 2026, Artist Unknown* Ivi was here, an extraordinary German-Turkish theatre production, comes to Istanbul as part of the renowned Istanbul Theatre Festival. Following its world premiere in Athens, the production will have its Turkish premiere on 3 November at Arter, followed by performances on 4 November and, on 17 November, at the Leyla Gencer Opera and Art Centre. The performances are also part of the programme marking the 15th anniversary of the Tarabya Cultural Academy.
At the centre of the play is the Istanbul-born Greek painter Ivi Stangali. Born in 1922, the artist was a prominent figure in the city’s art scene of her time. She studied in the studio of Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, co-founded the artists’ group Onlar and illustrated early editions of the Iliad. Following her expulsion from Türkiye in 1964, however, she gradually disappeared not only from Istanbul but also from the city’s cultural memory and art history.
Written by Çiğdem Erdöl, and directed by Elif Sözer and Zeynep Özden, the production traces the fragments of this lost biography. With Tilbe Saran, Fulya Peker and Çağdaş Ekin Şişman on stage, it unfolds as a multi-layered journey through memories, exile, vanished paintings, unfinished works and the ruptures of a life between Istanbul and Athens. Yet Artist Unknown* Ivi was here goes far beyond an artist’s biography: it asks who is remembered, who disappears from official narratives, and which stories need to be retold so that they are not lost. Combining historical research with contemporary theatre, the production creates a dialogue between Istanbul and Athens, between individual memories and collective experiences of loss, erasure and belonging.
The production also exemplifies the long-term support provided by the Tarabya Cultural Academy. Directors Elif Sözer and Zeynep Özden were fellows at Tarabya from October 2024 to January 2025 as part of the co-production fellowship supported by the Allianz Foundation, during which they developed the project’s concept. Following an initial presentation at the Academy’s Summer Festival in 2025, the project received further support through a development fellowship and funding from the Alumni Fund. Its inclusion in the programme of the Istanbul Theatre Festival marks another important milestone in this process and demonstrates how lasting artistic collaborations between Germany and Türkiye can develop over several years.
Cast
Tilbe Saran
Fulya Peker
Çağdaş Ekin Şişman
Dates
3 and 4 November 2026, 8.30 pm, Arter
17 November 2026, 8.30 pm, Leyla Gencer Opera and Art Centre
Tickets for the performances are available via Passo.
In cooperation with the IKSV Istanbul Theatre Festival.
Artist
Elif Sözer & Zeynep Özden
Elif Sözer (born 1987 in Istanbul, Turkey) grew up in Vienna and, after studying theater, film and media studies at the University of Vienna, completed a physical theater training course after Jacques Lecoq at the London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA). She then moved to Istanbul, where she completed her master’s degree in dramaturgy and theater criticism. She was involved in the founding of the first Physical Theater and Comedy School in Istanbul, taught at the Istanbul University State Conservatory and acted in various productions. She also adapted the novel “Gizli Emir” by Melih Cevdet Anday for the stage, which she also directed. She has lived in Berlin since 2019 and was part of the drama department at the Volksbühne Berlin for two seasons until 2021, working as an assistant dramaturg and dramaturg. Her dramaturgical work includes the production “Hammer & Spiegel ‘ (director: Florian Hain), the radio play ’About Persephone ‘ (director: Charlotte S. Garraway) and the play ’METAMORPHOSEN [overcoming mankind]” (director: Claudia Bauer). Among the directors she has worked with as an assistant dramaturg are Lucia Bihler, Susanne Kennedy and Pınar Karabulut. Since 2021 she has been a freelance dramaturge, actress and movement director, as well as Outside Eye and conceptual consultant for contemporary circus productions. Since June 2024, she has been a lecturer in physical theater at arthaus.berlin (formerly LISPA) and a permanent member of the educational team. Most recently, she adapted the play “Les Pas Pardus / Kayıp Adımlar ” for a Turkish audience together with director Zeynep Özden and worked as dramaturge and movement director for the production.
Zeynep Özden (born 1981 in Istanbul, Turkey) completed her bachelor’s degree at Galatasaray University in the Radio-TV-Cinema department, studied acting at Pera School of Fine Arts and completed her master’s degree in directing at Kadir Has University Istanbul in the Film and Drama department. As part of her master’s thesis, she looked at the joint work of the director with the actors and the possibilities of creating an ensemble with creative and decisive actors. She focused on a hypothetical rehearsal process that should be created in order to create storylines together with the actors.She has participated in numerous workshops in Turkey and abroad and has been working as an assistant director, actress and director at Pera Theater since it was founded in 2001. She is interested in recording drama as video performances. The play “Sweat ‘ by Lynn Nottage, which she translated and directed, was chosen as the play of the year by the ’Ekin Yazın Dostları” association. She has translated several plays into Turkish and directed staged readings. She also teaches acting. In 2023, her application with the play “Les Pas Pardus / Kayıp Adımlar” was selected in the Open Call of the Alan Kadıköy Theater, which she then adapted for a Turkish audience and staged in November 2023.
Elif Sözer and Zeynep Özden are scholarship holders of the Tarabya Cultural Academy from October 2024 to January 2025 as a tandem as part of the German-Turkish co-production scholarships supported by the Allianz Foundation.
Elif Sözer (born 1987 in Istanbul, Turkey) grew up in Vienna and, after studying theater, film and media studies at the University of Vienna, completed a physical theater training course after Jacques Lecoq at the London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA). She then moved to Istanbul, where she completed her master’s degree in dramaturgy and theater criticism. She was involved in the founding of the first Physical Theater and Comedy School in Istanbul, taught at the Istanbul University State Conservatory and acted in various productions. She also adapted the novel “Gizli Emir” by Melih Cevdet Anday for the stage, which she also directed. She has lived in Berlin since 2019 and was part of the drama department at the Volksbühne Berlin for two seasons until 2021, working as an assistant dramaturg and dramaturg. Her dramaturgical work includes the production “Hammer & Spiegel ‘ (director: Florian Hain), the radio play ’About Persephone ‘ (director: Charlotte S. Garraway) and the play ’METAMORPHOSEN [overcoming mankind]” (director: Claudia Bauer). Among the directors she has worked with as an assistant dramaturg are Lucia Bihler, Susanne Kennedy and Pınar Karabulut. Since 2021 she has been a freelance dramaturge, actress and movement director, as well as Outside Eye and conceptual consultant for contemporary circus productions. Since June 2024, she has been a lecturer in physical theater at arthaus.berlin (formerly LISPA) and a permanent member of the educational team. Most recently, she adapted the play “Les Pas Pardus / Kayıp Adımlar ” for a Turkish audience together with director Zeynep Özden and worked as dramaturge and movement director for the production.
Zeynep Özden (born 1981 in Istanbul, Turkey) completed her bachelor’s degree at Galatasaray University in the Radio-TV-Cinema department, studied acting at Pera School of Fine Arts and completed her master’s degree in directing at Kadir Has University Istanbul in the Film and Drama department. As part of her master’s thesis, she looked at the joint work of the director with the actors and the possibilities of creating an ensemble with creative and decisive actors. She focused on a hypothetical rehearsal process that should be created in order to create storylines together with the actors.She has participated in numerous workshops in Turkey and abroad and has been working as an assistant director, actress and director at Pera Theater since it was founded in 2001. She is interested in recording drama as video performances. The play “Sweat ‘ by Lynn Nottage, which she translated and directed, was chosen as the play of the year by the ’Ekin Yazın Dostları” association. She has translated several plays into Turkish and directed staged readings. She also teaches acting. In 2023, her application with the play “Les Pas Pardus / Kayıp Adımlar” was selected in the Open Call of the Alan Kadıköy Theater, which she then adapted for a Turkish audience and staged in November 2023.
Elif Sözer and Zeynep Özden are scholarship holders of the Tarabya Cultural Academy from October 2024 to January 2025 as a tandem as part of the German-Turkish co-production scholarships supported by the Allianz Foundation.