City Theaters’ costumes awaiting new museum

The Istanbul Municipality’s City Theaters are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. Works are ongoing for the construction of a museum to display the many costumes and accessories that have been used in plays over those storied 100 years The special accessories and costumes that have been used in the plays of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) City Theaters for more than a century are currently waiting to be displayed at long-planned new museum. The costume storage of the City Theaters is home to more than 100,000 props and costumes from hundreds of plays staged throughout its storied history.

Ottoman-era knives, original Ottoman police station emblems, a sherbet seller’s kettle, a Karagöz shadow play set, specially-made French heaters, a church bell from 1906, and costumes that were used in unforgettable plays are among the many objects currently being kept in a special room in storage - awaiting the new museum.

City Theaters Accessories Chief Özkan Balsoy said when a play was removed from the repertoire its costumes and props were always kept under protection in storage, right back to the first plays performed.

“The objects and costumes of some plays such as ‘Lüküs Hayat’ [Luxurious Life] and ‘Sersem Kocanın Kurnaz Karısı’ [The Shrewd Wife of a Silly Husband] are kept in a special area,” Balsoy said.

“From 1914 to this year, when we are celebrating the 100th year, we can estimate that the costumes and props of more than 2,000 plays are being kept in the depot. There are also many objects. The City Theaters never throws out anything, but keeps them because they may be needed in other plays. The number of these objects is between 100,000-150,000,” he...