Istanbul’s theatre and arts scene with Filiz Ova from Zorlu PAC

Last month Zorlu Performing Arts Centre - Türkiye’s largest dedicated performing arts theatre and concert hall based in Istanbul - premiered their production of the Arthur Miller classic Death of a Salesman. Boasting an all star creative team including former National Theatre Artistic Director Rufus Norris and a cast of the country’s top actors including Halit Ergenç who returned to the stage for the first time in 25 years, the show opened to great critical acclaim and packed houses. 

We spoke to the Centre’s General Manager Filiz Ova about the venue’s goals, bringing international talent to Istanbul and why Arthur Miller’s Pulitizer Prize winning work is timeless.

A 13-season vision realised — You mentioned this production follows a 13-season vision and preparation process. Can you tell us more about that journey — what made Death of a Salesman the right production to mark this milestone for Zorlu PAC?

Zorlu PAC was founded in 2013 by Zorlu Group. Since the very beginning, our goal was not only to be a venue hosting international productions, but also to become a center that produces its own large-scale productions. Over the past 13 seasons, we have worked with both local and international creative teams in line with this vision, building a strong production language and a solid infrastructure. Establishing a space where original and universal texts meet local storytelling has always been one of our core priorities.

Death of a Salesman is one of the productions that most clearly reflects the point achieved through this vision today. We are reinterpreting a timeless text in Türkiye, with a creative team on an international scale. In this sense, the production is not merely a staging of a classic; it is also a powerful expression of Zorlu PAC’s production capacity and its international position.

Arthur Miller’s narration of ambition, identity, and the price paid for personal dreams continues to resonate deeply even today. In this respect, the play has a contemporary resonance while also establishing a thematic tie with our 13-season-long journey. Considering the scale we have reached, the structure of our teams, and our artistic approach, we see this project as a deliberate choice that marks a turning point.

Bringing international talent to Istanbul — You've assembled a remarkable creative team including Sir Rufus Norris, Es Devlin, and Adam Cork alongside some of Turkey's biggest acting names. How did this unique collaboration between international and homegrown talent come together, and what does it signal about Zorlu PAC's ambitions on the world stage?

We stage more than 1,200 events throughout a year across our seven venues. Nearly half of them are organized through international collaborations. From this perspective, international partnerships are a core part of our production approach. Gathering various creative perspectives in a single project directly shapes both the depth of the narrative and its impact on stage. In staging such a significant text, Death of a Salesman, we brought together a strong international team with some of Türkiye’s most prominent actors on the same creative platform. Our collaboration with leading names from different geographies has allowed us to create a production process that is mutually nourishing also in cultural terms.

The venue's cultural mission — Zorlu PAC has hosted nearly 8 million visitors over 13 years. How do you balance the commercial realities of running a world-class performing arts center with your mission to genuinely shape Turkey's cultural landscape?

For us, commercial sustainability and cultural responsibility are two fundamental elements that nourish each other. In order to make a world-class performing arts center sustainable, you need to build a strong operational structure and the right business models. At this point, the strong support provided by Zorlu Group, along with the long-term collaborations we have developed with our sponsors, are among the key complementary elements of this structure. However, this entire framework finds meaning merely through a strong artistic content.

Over 13 years, reaching approximately 8 million visitors demonstrates that this balance has been healthily established. When shaping our programming, we both include projects that appeal to wide audiences and also prioritize taking risks, supporting new productions, and creating space for diversified disciplines.

Our purpose is not only to meet the existing demand, but also to form new audiences and steer forward cultural production. For this reason, we see commercial success not as an ultimate goal, but as a means for creating a sustainable cultural impact.

Bringing classical theatre to new audiences — Death of a Salesman is a demanding, emotionally complex piece of theatre. How do you approach programming a play like this in a way that feels accessible and relevant to a broad Turkish audience, many of whom may be more familiar with musicals or contemporary work?

Death of a Salesman is a universal narrative built on humans’ hopes, dreams, and vulnerabilities. In this sense, it is a text that can connect with audiences in every era. For us, the language of the piece on stage has been the defining element here. With highly impressive performances, an international creative team, and high production standards, this story has become deeply captivating for today’s audience as well.

The longevity of great productions — You expressed a hope that this production will remain on your stage for years to come, much like Dust which ran for 350 performances over five seasons. What in your view makes a production have that kind of staying power, and what does success look like for this show?

What makes a production enduring depends on the strength of the bond it establishes with the audience. In some plays, this bond becomes even stronger with every performance. Willy Loman’s story narrates the human struggle for existence from a very fundamental viewpoint, and it remains relevant in every era. Therefore, I believe this story will continue being performed on our stage for many years to come.

What's next for Zorlu PAC — With your motto "Let Your World Change" and a clear appetite for ambitious, large-scale productions, what can audiences expect from Zorlu PAC beyond this production — and where do you see the venue in another 13 years?

The motto ‘Let Your World Change’ represents the most powerful promise we make to our audience.

At Zorlu PAC, across our seven venues and 55,000 square meters of space, we have created a unique ecosystem where a variety of disciplines come together and local production is strengthened, in addition to hosting large-scale productions.

In the coming period, while expanding our international collaborations, we will continue making creative work from Türkiye more visible. Alongside large-scale projects, we will keep making room for new voices and new forms of delivery.

We will uphold, with determination, our vision of becoming a cultural and art institution that produces across all fields of the arts and speaks to the world from its own geography, using a strong cultural voice.

Death of a Salesman is at Zorlu PAC in Istanbul until 16th June. For more go to https://www.zorlupsm.com/