Durham E-Theses
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Durham E-Theses The development of the Turkish drama as a vehicle for social and political comment in the post-revolutionary period, (1924 to the present Robson, Bruce How to cite: Robson, Bruce (1970) The development of the Turkish drama as a vehicle for social and political comment in the post-revolutionary period, (1924 to the present, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10239/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. THE DE^^LOPtiEKT OF THE TURKISH DRAIIA AS A VEHICLE FOR SOCIAL AND POLITICAL COMJENT IN THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. (1924 TO THE PRESENT.) BRUCE ROBSON A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DECTREE OF M.A, OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM. AN ABSTRACT OF THIS THESIS. The modem Turkish dramatist has two traditions of theatre on which to draw ; the folk play called 'orta oyunu' and the classical theatre of Western Europe. These have heen known in Turkey for at least a hundred and fifty years. When writing comedy, he has found 'orta oyunu' traditions of most use; when writing on social or political themes, the traditions of Western European theatre, as first employed by Namik Kema'j) , have served him best. Since 1924, he has concentrated on plots which presented characters learning to live with the profound social changes demanded by the Constitution of that year. Criticism has entered his work either by contrasting individuals at variance with the norm as represented by Republican society, or conversely, society's short-comings with some ei^emplary individual dedicated to Revolutionary concepts. Because of a traditionally oppressive censorship, he has not been in the habit of being outspoken in his criticism and he has become very adept at cloaking his comment in mythical, legendary and historical plot. When the censorship was relaxed as a direct result of the I96O Revolution, all at once he was free to voice opinions he had masked since the foundation of the Republic and these burst forth with an adolescent enthusiasm wherein the criticism was forth• right but not always reasonable or accurate. It is foreseen that the next stage in his evolution will be to distance himself from his subjects and present his opinions in a more mature argument. It is noted that his critical work has been understandably more honest and less cryptic since the relaxing of the censorship, especially since 1965* Fine Turkish plays have beenwritten in this period but no form of expression essentially Turkish in inspiration has yet evolved. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. 1. The Initial Dilemma page i. 2. The Drum Beats Nightly page iv. 5. Defining a Purpose page xix. PART I. Nineteenth Century Turkish Theatre : Two Traditions. page 1. 1. The Shadow Play and the 'Orta Oyunu' page 2. 2. The Theatre Of Western Europe in Turkey page 7» 5. "Vatan yahut Silistre" and "Akif Bey"' page 12. PART II. page 24. Chapter 1. "Hint a Fault and Hesitate Dislike" Two Published plays by page 31• CEVAT FEHMI BA^UT "Paydos" and "Harput'ta Bir Amerikali" Chapter 2. "The Run of the Mill" page fj. Three Published Plays by ORHAN ASENA s "Yalan" TURGUT OZAKMAN j "Ocak" NAZM KUR?UNLU j "Merdiven" Chapter "The Uses of Legend and Myth" page 67. Two Published Plays by GUNGOR DIBffiN KALYONCU "Midas'in Kulaklari" and "Kurban"^ CONTENTS (continued) Chapter 4. "Kizim Sana S&yleyorum, Gelinim Sen Anla" page 90, Two published historical plays "Hurrem Sultan" by ORHAN ASENA "Deli Ibrahim" by A. TURAN OFLAZOGLU Chapter 3» "New Interest in Village Life and Culture" page 117. Two published plays by NECATI CmHALI "Nalmlar" and "Derya Gulu" Chapter 6. "Concern" page 127. Three published plays by CAHIT ATAY "Pusuda"» "Karalarin Memetleri" and "Sultan Gelin" One.published play by FIKRET OTYAM "Mayin" Chapter 7« "The Race To Get Things Said" page 147. "72. Bogus" by ORHAN KEMAL "Saripmar 1914" by TURGUT OZAKMAN "Ke^anli Ali" by HALDUN TANER "Devri Suleyman" by AYDIN ENGIN "Yalova Kaymakami" by ORHAN KEMAL CONCLUSION. page 178. INTRODUCTION. (i) 1. The Initial Dilemma. When literary or academic discussion of the drama is engaged upon, it is almost inevitable that theatre people will disaiss the proceedings as invalid. Similarly, vhen directors and actors talk of the play, men of letters and academicians will often turn their backs on the ephemeral nature of the discussion. In a way, both parties are justified in their reaction to the other's views because the draaa is an inextricable blend of the momentary experience of the performance and the lasting one of the play's text in print. From an academic point of view, it is safeet to deal with the play in print, and the playwright, than, as an author; yet in doing so, one is cutting off the play from the very purpose for which it was intended; that is, performance. Terence Rattigan has said to the effect that a writer cannot call himself a playwright till he has seen his plays in performance. Yet as soon as the literary man accepts that the play in performance is a valid part of his thesis, the initial dilemma expands in all directions. How much of what is seen is what the author intended; to what extent have the actor's lines been adapted to his range of playing; how much has the director moulded the play after his own style; how much of the play is sheer technical expertise ? Not least in the consideration of the 'play in performance' is thg' mood of (ii) the audience at the tine of its subjection to the piece. The audience's response can either lend wings to the event or nail it to the boards. The weather, a national crisis or a death in the family can all affect the reception of even the most brilliantly executed play. From the point of view of the acadeniclan, all these theatrical vagaries provide shaky foundations on which to base a critical judgement. The only true basis for such is tangible evidence* Once this is admitted, one can only proceed by attempting to deal with all factors, the tangible and the intangible, giving precedence to the durable and concrete over the spontaneous and ephemeral. For the purposes of this thesis, an examination of the written text will be given premier importance. Then, the author talking about his own work will be considered. After that, points ©f direction of the play in actual performance, which were seen to illumine passages of the text, will be treated. Finally, the critics' evaluation will be relegated to the least inportant role of all. In treating Turkish draaa, however, the problea is not that easily solved. Firstly, texts are not published according to their merit as literature or as popular successes. The choice would seem to be the arbitrary decision of the individual publisher. Secondly, the Turkish playwright, prefacing his play with a puff composed by himself for (iii) publication in the programme, often seeks to condition his audience ty telling them in advance of the stage presentation what he has written. Often, after seeing the play, the discrepancy between his intention and his achievement is marked. Then, to be influenced by one performance ©f a play can be hopelessly mi'sleading. "Deli Ibrahim", seen ©n three separate ©ccasions, provied to be three different experiences. On the occasion of the Cumhuriyet Bayrami, 1967» the audience, primed with nationalistic spirit instilled by the day's parades, lent a vital immediacy to the performance by its response to certain scenes. This was noticeably absent on the other two occasions. On the second, the leading man was obviously ill, while, on the third, the house was half full. The word of the critic, which might have proved an effective bridge between the theatrical experience and the literary integrity ®f the play, has been relegated to last place in importance, since it is almost impossible to decide ^^ether the Turkish critic is being impartial or not. Several elements are responsible for this. The first is the smallness of Turkish theatrical society. Theatre is centred on Istanbul and Ankara. Critics and Writers are in each others' pockets. Friendships and loyalties are involved in the assessment of work; so much so that objective criticism is rare. (iv) The information used in the preparation of this thesis, then, has been gleaned from the following sources in order of reliability ; the published text of the play; the introductions to those texts; the author talking about his own work in newspaper articles and puffs printed in the front of theatre programmes; the actual words of playwrights, critics and actors as heard in debate or rounds conference tables, such words being taken down in shorthand and written up afterwards.