The Problem of Sustainability in Independent Theatres in Istanbul, Its Current Status, and a Proposal: Performance as an Audience Ritual

Abstract

This article presents a theoretical proposal regarding the issue of sustainability in independent theatres operating in Istanbul based on the concepts used by performance studies and symbolist anthropology and aims to describe the current social environment. This article aims to be a performance-, identity-, and audience-oriented study, as well as part of the academic research and journalistic knowledge produced within the scope of financial solutions and public incentives regarding the issue of sustainability. Based on this motivation and by associating sustainability with the concepts of temporary community, communitas, and anti-structure that are specific to ritual phenomena in theatre performance and connected to this liminal interval, this article will evaluate the participants within the definition of the performing ensemble, illustrate the current situation, and develop a proposal using a performance studies approach. The focuses of the study include a brief history of independent theatres in Istanbul and the issue of their sustainability. The analysis has been deepened with a statistical study accompanying these descriptions and press interviews conducted with the executives of the field, with the conclusion putting forth a constructive and transformative proposal.

Keywords

• independent theatre
• alternative theatre
• sustainability
• ritual
• communitas