(Re)considering Turkish Theatre in the Republic’s Centenary
Metadrama in Turkish Theatre: Self-Consciousness, Embarrassment and the Hijab
L. Abel uses the word metatheatre for self-reflexive theatre in his work published in 1963. Metatheatre (or metadrama) is an attempt to think through the possibilities and nature of theatre (drama) itself, especially the origin of mimetic activity and play. After Abel’s work, the definition of metatheatre has been expanded by other theorists to include many qualities. Many features of the art of theatre, such as play within play, disguise and role-playing, the interruption of the illusion or narrative, and the elimination of the boundaries between the spectator’s space and the playground, have been discussed as metatheatrical features. The self-reflection of Western drama can be seen in many examples such as Euripides’ Bacchae, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author, Beckett’s Endgame and Crouch’s The Author.
In my opinion, plays with metadramatic features tend to increase in moments of ontological crisis (or periods of change) when the art of drama questions its existence. Since the 19th century, Turkish drama has been radically oriented towards Western dramatic conventions, while at the same time searching for a “national theatrical aesthetic.” These contradictory aspirations have created an ontological crisis. This study aims to trace this “ontological crisis” in Turkish theatre.
Turkish theatre, like the performing arts of other Islamic societies, has its own unique “point of view” or perspective. There is always a question related to the gaze. It seems to be crucial for theatre as an art form rooted in seeing and perception. A consequence of this difference in seeing and perceiving is that Turkish theatre can be considered a “hijab [curtain, barrier] theatre.” I believe that the general character of Turkish theatre (including traditional forms such as orta oyunu, karagöz - shadow play -, puppetry, storytelling -maddah-, and village plays, as well as postwesternisation theatre) revolves around the notions of “hijab” and “embarrassment.” Using the term “metadrama” as a critical term that encompasses both consciousness and hijab, I will attempt to discuss the dominant tendency of Turkish performing arts as metadramatic / meta-theatricality and argue that the main reason for this tendency is rooted in the hijab (curtain).
