Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The People's Houses and the Theatre in Turkey

2004; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 40; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00263200410001700301

1743-7881

Eyal Ari,

Turkey's Politics and Society

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Acknowledgments This article is an adaptation of a chapter in an MA thesis under the title 'Theatre and Theatrical Practitioners in Modern Turkey: 1923 – 50', written in the Department of Middle Eastern History at the University of Haifa under the supervision of Professor David Kushner. The author would also like to thank Professor Butrus Abu-Manneh and Professor Gad Gilbar of the Department of Middle Eastern History at the University of Haifa for their useful comments on an earlier draft of this article. Notes Augusto Boal, Theatre of the Oppressed (New York: Urizen Books, 1979), p.xii. During this period in Greek history drama was part of the field of poetics. Zygmunt Hubner, Theater & Politics (Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1992), pp.5 – 6. This is apparent from a simple survey of the theatre section in any good academic library. In Haifa University, for instance, I found literally dozens of publications dealing with the national theatre experience of many nations: Poland, Russia, France, England, Italy, Japan, China, Israel, Armenia, Tanzania, South Africa, USA, and many others. For general surveys regarding political theatre, as well as its role in the nation-building process, see, among many others: Boal, Theater of the Oppressed; Karen Hermassi, Polity and Theater in Historical Perspective (Berkeley, LA: University of California Press, 1977); Herbert Blau, To All Appearances: Ideology and Performance (New York and London: Routledge, 1992); Sue-Ellen Case and Janelle Reinelt, The Performance of Power: Theatrical Discourse and Politics (Iowa City: The University of Iowa Press, 1991). Avraham Oz, Political Representation in the Theatre: Prejudice, Protest, Prophecy (Tel Aviv: Zmora-Bitan, 1999), pp.112 – 13 (in Hebrew). A general survey regarding the development of radio and television in modern Turkey can be found in Mahmut Öngören Talı, 'Radio and Television in Turkey', in Renda Günsel and Max Kortepeter (eds.), The Transformation of Turkish Culture (Princeton: The Kingston Press, 1986), pp.179 – 96. He writes: 'Musical programs dominated most of the broadcast time; thus, "entertainment", not "information and education", seemed to be the sole purpose of these early broadcasts. In other words, starting with the earliest days, radio in Turkey, did very little to help the people realize the aims of the young Republic. Consequently radio on the whole did not become an instrument for supporting Atatürk's ideal of producing "contemporary civilization" in Turkey.' Ibid, pp.114 – 15. Turkish Ministry of Culture, 'A Chronological History of the Turkish Cinema 1914 – 88: 1931 – 50 period', (2002), Turkish Ministry of Culture website: http://www.kultur.gov.tr/portal/default_en.asp?belgeno = 2677 (22 may 2002). Bıltın Toker, who in 1986 published a somewhat critical tourist guide to Istanbul, writes the following, pinpointing the superiority of the theatre over the cinema in contemporary Turkish society. 'There is no such thing as a theatre-going public (there is no educated bourgeois to go to the theatre) but simply underpaid, sexually and otherwise frustrated masses struggling with inflation who look for morale boosting allies everywhere including the stage. The high tension of everyday existence makes them readily pay the price of a seat for a few silly laughs. The theatre is considered superior to the cinema in performing this function because it is more immediate, real, more in line with the dynamics of the non-mechanical Turkish society and doesn't cost much more than watching a film.' Bıltın Toker, Spot on Istanbul (Istanbul: Panorama Productions International, 1986), p.246. Asım Karaömerlioğlu, 'The People's Houses and the Cult of the Peasant in Turkey', Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.34, No. 4 (1998), pp.67 – 91. The term 'elite' in this study pertains to the new urban and educated 'middle classes', the intelligentsia, the bureaucracy, the army (especially veterans), and the petit bourgeoisie, that stood at the head of the state and manned its institutions. In the Middle East, Turkey included, these 'middle classes' are sometimes referred to as the 'State Middle Class' or the 'State Bourgeoisie', as defined by John Waterbury in his study, 'Twilight of the State Bourgeoisie', International Journal of Middle East Studies, 23 (1991), 1 – 17. I choose to refer to them as 'elite' ('a: a socially superior group; b: a powerful minority group', Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, p.404) since, while not easily ascribing to the terms 'middle class' or 'bourgeoisie', they did function, at the time, as a small, distinct group that saw itself above the rest of society, and believed its duty was to steer society the way it saw fit. For the full quotation, see: Ibid, p.85. The Turkish Hearth [Türk Ocağı] was an association of members sharing common ideas and ideals. It was established in 1912 by students from the Military Medical School [Askerî Tıbbiye] and Civil Service School [Mekteb-i Mülkiye], as well as some prominent intellectuals, such as, Hamdullah Suphi Tanriöver, Mehmet Emin, Ahmet Ferit and Yusuf Akçura. Its aim was to advance the cultural, social, educational, and economic level of Turks wherever they resided, and to strengthen their common identity. This was to be achieved by opening branches, called Turkish Hearths, in Turkey and abroad, and by organizing lectures and courses, publishing books and other reading material, including the periodical Türk Yurdu, and opening professional schools. For more information on the Turkish Hearth and the circumstances that led to its establishment, see: Masami Arai, Turkish Nationalism in the Young Turk Era (Leiden: Brill, 1992), pp.71 – 82; as well as, Füsun Üstel, İmparatorluktan Ulus-Devlete Türk Milliyetçiliği: Türk Ocakları, 1912 – 31 (Istanbul: İletişim yayınları, 1997). For background information on the People's Houses, see: Kemal Karpat, 'The People's Houses in Turkey: Establishment and Growth', Middle East Journal, Vol.17 (1963), pp.55 – 67. Each House could contain up to nine committees: (1) Language, Literature, and History; (2) Fine Arts (including music); (3) Drama; (4) Sports; (5) Social Assistance; (6) Popular Education and Courses; (7) Library and Publications; (8) Village Welfare and Development; and (9) Museums and Exhibitions. For specifics about the nature of each committee, see: Donald Webster, The Turkey of Atatürk, Social Process in the Turkish Reformation (Philadelphia: The American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, 1939), pp.187 – 92. Karpat, 'The People's Houses in Turkey … ', pp.59 – 60. CHP (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi – Republican People's Party) Kayseri Halkevi Armağanı (Kayseri: Kayseri Yenimatbaa, 1933), p.25. Quoted in Webster, The Turkey of Atatürk, p.191. For this point of view, see: Karaömerlioğlu, 'The People's Houses and the Cult of the Peasant in Turkey', pp.67 – 91. Binnaz Toprak, Islam and Political Development in Turkey (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1981), pp.88 – 9. Karpat, 'The People's Houses in Turkey … ', p.65. CHP, Mardin Halkevi Broşürü (Mardin: Mardin ulus Sesi Basimevi, 1935), p.15. CHP, Aydın Halkevi Broşürü (Izmir: Izmir Nefeset Matbaası, 1933), p.18. CHP, Gazianteb Halkevi Broşürü (Gazianteb: Gazianteb Halk Fırkası Matbaası, 1935), pp.15 – 16. Karaömerlioğlu, 'The People's Houses and the Cult of the Peasant in Turkey', pp.70 – 71. Webster, The Turkey of Atatürk, pp.144 – 5. About the Rooms, see: Karpat, 'The People's Houses in Turkey … ', pp.62 – 3. According to him, although on the whole about 4300 Rooms were established, only 2000 of these were in villages whilst the rest were in small towns and city districts. Halide Edib (Adıvar), Turkey Faces West (New Haven: Arno Press, 1973), p.117. Webster, The Turkey of Atatürk, p.186; Karpat, 'The People's Houses in Turkey … ', p.59; Karaömerlioğlu, 'The People's Houses and the Cult of the Peasant in Turkey', p.68. Ilhan Başgöz and Howard Wilson, Educational Problems in Turkey 1920 – 1940 (Bloomington: Indiana University, 1968), pp.152 – 3. This theatrical activity was organized by the Fascist Youth Organization established in 1926, see: Michel Ostenc, L'éducation en Italie pendant le Fascisme (Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 1980), p.240. For information about these Houses in Soviet Russia, see: Beatrice King, Russia Goes to School: A Guide to Soviet Education (London: The New Educational Book Club, 1948), pp.126 – 7. Başgöz and Wilson, Educational Problems in Turkey, pp.152 – 3. For an elaboration on the committee's functions, see: Webster, The Turkey of Atatürk, pp.188 – 9. Malik Evrenol, Revolutionary Turkey (Ankara: Librairie Hachette, 1936), pp.99 – 100. A few examples include, among many others, The Raşit Özcan Company, The Gülünç Fahri Company, The Sabık Hale Sanatkarlar Opereti, and The Süreyya Opereti. In fact, the only professional theatres outside Istanbul until the National Theatre commenced operation in 1947, were the so-called Ankara Municipal Theatre, established by well known professionals from Istanbul in 1937, and the Municipal Theatre of Izmir, established in 1946. Both ceased operation not long after being opened. For further information about these theatres, see: Özön Nihat and Baha Düren, Türk Tiyatrosu Ansiklopedisi (Istanbul: Ramzi Kitabevi, 1967), p.33, 235 (respectively). Özmen Müge, 'The Activities of the People's House of Eminönü and its Review: Yeni Türk', (unpublished MA Thesis, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, 1994), pp.17 – 18. Özön, Türk Tiyatrosu Ansiklopedisi, pp.405 – 6. Ibid, p.104. Ibid, pp.174, 176. Ibid, p.98. Ibid, p.217. Ibid, p.179. Throughout the first Republican period the ratio between the urban and rural population was maintained, the urban population comprising about 24% of the total population, see: Edwin Cohn, Turkish Economic, Social, and Political Change (New York: Praeger, 1970), p.66, table, p.68. As for Istanbul's population, it fell from more than a million in 1923 to 794,000 in 1940 and than rose again to 983,000 in 1950. The first time the city's population exceeded the million mark again was in 1955, see: Zefer Toprak, 'Nüfüs', Dünden Bugüne Istanbul Ensiklopedisi, Vol.6 (1994), pp.319 – 20. Özön, Türk Tiyatrosu Ansiklopedisi, p.28. Ibid, p.89. Ibid, p.146. Ibid, p.254. Ibid, pp.44 – 5. Ibid, p.78, 401. Ibid, p.153. Eyal Ari, 'Theatre and Theatrical Practitioners in Republican Turkey 1923 – 1950', (unpublished MA dissertation, University of Haifa, 2002), pp.62 – 3, 111 (in Hebrew). For a list of national, as well as European plays produced by the Clubs, and the Houses, see the list of plays in which Dümer Ekram participated while active in Istanbul's People's Houses, Özön, Türk Tiyatrosu Ansiklopedisi, p.153; or the list of plays produced by the Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa Youth Club, Özön, Türk, p.217; the Topkapı Youth Club, Özön, Türk, p.406; or the list of plays produced by The Union of Turkish Youth, Özön, Türk, p.414. See in addition: Müge, The Activities of the People's House of Eminönü and its Review: Yeni Türk, p.24. The Youth Clubs and the People's Houses were especially fond of Bernard Tristan since his plays carried a social message. Özön, Türk Tiyatrosu Ansiklopedisi, p.75. Refik Sevengil, Eski Türklerde Dram sana'atı (Türk Tiyatro Tarihi I, Istanbul: Maarif Basımevi, 1959), p.85. CHP, Aydın Halkevi Broşürü, p.18. His views on the importance of the theatre in education are expressed, for instance, in his book The Teacher, see: Hakkı Ismayıl Baltacıoğlu, Öğretmen (Ankara: Yeni Adam Yayınlar, 1944), p.112. CHP, Gazianteb Halkevi Broşürü, p.15. CHP, Aydın Halkevi Broşürü, p.11. CHP, Ankara Halkevi 1938 – 9 Çalışması (Ankara: Basım ve Ciltevi, 1939), p.3. CHP, Adana Halkevi Dergisi 1933 – 8 (Adana: Adana Türksözu Basevi, 1938), pp.52, 57 – 73. Mahmut Makal, Köyümden (Istanbul: Varlık Yayınevi, 1951), pp.18 – 20. The following exerpt is taken from the English translation in, Mahmut Makal, A Village in Anatolia, transl. Sir Wyndham Deedes (London: Vallentine, Mitchell, 1954), pp.181 – 2, which I found to be reasonably accurate. The exerpt and the following description from: CHP, Bergama'da Köyler Tirmanlar, Bergama Halkevi Yayınından Sayı: 16 (Izmir: Güneş Basım ve Yayınevi), pp.44 – 5. These are the Efe ile bayraktar zeybek dances, which are typical of the villages of western Anatolia. For further information, see: Metin And, A History of Theater and Popular Entertainment in Turkey (Ankara: Forum, 1963 – 4), pp.53 – 9. Sevengil, Eski Türklerde Dram sana'atı, pp.80 – 90. For the examples from Tokat, see: pp.83 – 4. See: Webster, The Turkey of Atatürk, pp.187 – 8. Karaömerlioğlu, 'The People's Houses and the Cult of the Peasant in Turkey', p.72. Studies dealing specifically with these types of traditional theatrical forms include Nicholas Martinovich, The Turkish Theatre (New York: Benjamin Blom, 1968); Sevin Nureddin, Türk Gölge Oyunu (Istanbul: Devlet Kitapları, 1968); Metin And, Karagöz (Istanbul: Dost Yayınlari, 1979); Mevlüt Özhan (ed.), The Traditional Turkish Theatre (Ankara: Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Culture, General Directorate of Research and Development of Folk Cultures, 1999). He is referring to the first edition of his book of 1930. Selim Nüzet Gerçek, Türk Temaşası: Meddah – Karagöz – Orta Oyunu (Istanbul: Matbaai Ebüzziya, 1930). Selim Nüzet Gerçek, Türk Temaşası: Meddah – Karagöz – Orta Oyunu (Istanbul: Kanaat Kitabevi, 1942), pp.93 – 4. Sabri Esat Siyavuşgil, Karagöz: son histoire, ses personnages, son esprit mystique et satirique, Publication de la Direction Générale de la Presse, de la Radiodiffusion et du Tourisme (Istanbul: Milli Eğitim Basımevi, 1951), p.7. Neşe Yeşilkaya, Halkevleri: Ideoloji ve Mimarlık (Istanbul: Iletişim Yayınları, 1999), pp.94 – 8 ; on pp.96 – 8 he gives an example of a Karagöz text from 1940 that was adapted to the modern and secular spirit of the times. CHP, Ankara Halkevi 1938 – 9 Çalışması, pp.3 – 4. Ibid, p.18. Ibid, p.20. For a comprehensive list of these publications, see Istanbul Enstitüsü Dergisi I (Istanbul: Istanbul Matbaası, 1955), pp.69 – 73. The Tuluat was the next stage in the evolution of the Ortaoyunu, the main novelty being the use of a proper stage, set, and props. Regarding Ağlatan Mürüvvet's performances, see: Özön, Türk Tiyatrosu Ansiklopedisi, p.9. In Dec. 1947 Muhsin Ertuğrul, manager of the educational stage and the appointed general manager of the National Theatre, opened the Small Stage, which acted as the unofficial home of the National Theatre until the grand opening of the official big stage in April 1949. Özön, Türk Tiyatrosu Ansiklopedisi, p.33. CHP, Ankara Halkevi 1938 – 9 Çalışması, pp.19. In order to identify the plays, the list provided by the Ankara People's House organ (see: citation no. 74) was cross-checked with the list of plays and playwrights in Özön, Türk Tiyatrosu Ansiklopedisi, pp.448 – 90. CHP, Ankara Halkevi 1938 – 1939 Çalışması, pp. 20. Oya, Kaynar, Muhsin Ertuğrul: 'The Leader of the Turkish Theatre' (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Minnesota, 1969), p.126. CHP, Kayseri Halkevi Armağanı, p.15. Ibid, p.15 – 16. CHP, Gazianteb Halkevi Broşürü, p.21. CHP, Aydın Halkevi Broşürü, p.19. Ibid, pp.36 – 8, 41. CHP, Adana Halkevi Dergisi 1933 – 8, pp.21, 59 – 61. Webster, The Turkey of Atatürk, p.49. CHP, Mardin Halkevi Broşürü, pp.43 – 4. As the Ottomans learned, for instance, in 1873 when Namık Kemal's play, Vatan Yahut Silistre, was staged in Istanbul. The play, which emphasized the conflict between the patriotic Turkish sentiment and the ancient Ottoman social order, was received enthusiastically by the large crowds who came to see it and resulted in Namık being exiled. Refik Sevengil, Tanzimat Tiyatrosu, Türk Tiyatrosu Tarihi III (Istanbul: Milli Eğitim Basımevi, 1961), p.78. Karpat, 'The People's Houses in Turkey … ', p.66; Karaömerlioğlu, 'The People's Houses and the Cult of the Peasant in Turkey', pp.83 – 4. According to Karaömerlioğlu in 1940 only about 2000 villages were visited. Ibid, p.70. Ibid, pp.71 – 2. Regarding the mentality of the civil servants in Republican Turkey, see: Edwin Cohn, Turkish Economic, Social, and Political Change (New York: Praeger, 1970), pp.85 – 9.