Istanbul Comedy Festival to begin on November 5th

Istanbul Comedy Festival (ICF) starts on November 5th with various humorous shows. The festival, which sets the trends in the field of humor in Turkey and prepares the ground for alternative and avant-garde projects, is organized under the main sponsorship of BKM, Maksimum Card and will continue until December 3.

In addition to talks, stand-ups, improv shows, sold-out theater plays and children’s events, ICFestival will bring British comedians together with Turkish audiences and take part in BrandWeek this year.

Demet Akbag, Şener Şen, Uğur Yücel, Ali Poyrazoğlu & Güneş Berberoğlu, Behzat & Süheyl Uygur, Kaan Sekban, Doğu Demirkol, Zafer Algöz & Can Yılmaz, Berfu & Eser Yenenler, Esra Dermancıoğlu, Deniz Göktaş, Ali Kerim Diler, Can Bonomo & Can Temiz & Bengi Apak, Oya Başar and Ebru Kural, Hakan Yılmaz & Ebru Cündübeyoğlu, Yasemin Şefik, Geveze, Semaver Kumpanya “Cimri”, Volkan Severcan & Asuman Dabak, Yunus Günçe are among the names participating in the Festival. In addition, interactive events, Aydınlıkevler, Güldür Güldür Show, Zengin Mutfağı, Çok Güzel Hareketler 2, which were staged to sold-out houses throughout the season, are also included in the Festival program.

British comedians to meet Turkish audience

Laura Symth, winner of the Funny Woman Awards (2019), Sean McLoughlin, who opened the tour of After Life star Rick Gervais, multi-award winning young comedian Matt Richardson, one of the best comedy club comedians in the UK, and Manchester comedian Brennan Reece will meet Turkish audiences as part of the ICF.

Special programs and names for the festival

As in the past festivals, the programs prepared for the festival for the first time and the names that will take the stage for the first time are also included in the program this year.

Brandweek shows

Brandweek Istanbul, which repositions Istanbul as a hub of creativity and brings together the world’s leading creative leaders with their inspiring ideas and works in special events, hosts Funny Woman Awards (2019) award-winning British comedian Laura Symth, Turkish theater, TV series and cinema actress Nergis Öztürk with her play “The Wedding Singer” and Lesli Karavil, who brings a breath of fresh air to stand-up and boldly presents the comedy of life through the eyes of a woman to the audience as part of ICF events.

Program for children

The festival will also host fun and educational theater plays and workshops for children; Turkish is My Home, Words Island, Bully Bully, Ceko and Pepo, Two Suitcases Full, Nasreddin Hodja are among the prominent events.

BKM Mutfak Çarşı and BKM Mutfak Kadıköy will host local and foreign stand-up shows during the ICF.