The role of Turkish theatre in the process of modernization in Turkey: 1839-1946

Art and the artist have been two of the most influential factors to affect society since the beginning of our history. The artist reflects the existing situation that the society is in. He also attempts to project the system he dreams of, or sometimes criticises it.The objective of this thesis is to look for, study, and analyze the answers to the following question: "How did theatre contribute to this new era which started in 1839 and led to change and modernization?"The main focus of this research is to explore and analyze theatre's effects on the period, which started with the Tanzimat Era (1839), and then continued with the First Constitutional Era (1876), the Second Constitutional Era (1908), the declaration of the Republic (1923) and the transition to multi-party competitive politics (1946).