2012

Launched in 2012 and held annually since, the New Text New Theatre Festival was initiated to support the first plays of emerging playwrights developed through the New Text workshops throughout the season. The project aims to increase the visibility of contemporary playwrights and to create direct connections between them and the performing arts sector.

As Turkey’s first playwriting festival, the New Text Festival presents original texts to both audiences and theatre professionals each year. Within the scope of the festival, post-performance talks with writers and directors create space for new discussions and exchanges in the field of theatre.

Each year, more than 20 emerging writers participate in the project, from which 6–8 texts are selected for the New Text New Theatre Festival. Since 2017, one play has been awarded “Play of the Year” annually. Over the course of 12 years, the festival has contributed to the creation of more than 60 new texts. It has also hosted nearly 70 playwrights and directors from countries including Spain, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Russia, Italy, France, and Poland.

With the participation of international playwrights, a new theme is determined each year. In line with this theme, selected texts written by workshop participants are presented within the festival as staged readings, semi-staged readings, or full productions by professional actors and directors. Works by invited international writers are presented as readings in both Turkish and their original languages.