Lost Stages and Words: A Historical Perspective of Ottoman and Turkish Theater

The speakers will provide a historical overview of the development and changes that have occurred within Ottoman and Turkish theater from the late 19th century to the present. The changes that have occurred since the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923 are profound. While much literature delves into the politics, demographic shifts and transfers, the power of theatre is often neglected. Thus, how do theatre and history help each other to remember and construct experience? How have different memories, historiographies, and actors clashed in recent history? How has Istanbul, as the center of power and cosmopolitanism, itself become an arena of struggle? Indeed, since the 1990s Turkish theatre has witnessed a rise in independent companies and playhouses, the rebirth of the theatre scene in Istanbul/Turkey with new playwrights, new plays and new techniques. However, this is not without its struggles as theatre, much like literature is often seen by particular governments as subversive. The speakers will contextualize these issues within the context of struggles in today's Turkey.