Institutionalization of state theaters in the republican period andevaluation of turkish plays staged after 2000

In the Ottoman lands, foreign state officials showed great interest in modern theater. While they organized theatrical performances in their own institutions in the Western sense, non-Muslim groups affiliated to the Ottoman Empire also showed great interest in the art of theater. With the proclamation of Tanzimat, one of the most important steps of Ottoman modernization, theater began to enter the agenda of Ottoman society more intensely. One of the most prominent debates following the strengthening of the art of theater in Ottoman society, which the sultans supported and paved the way for its representation in the palace, was the local representation of the plays to be staged. The plays staged were usually translated from the West. During the Meşrutiyet period, the issue of Turkish plays remained on the agenda, and important literary figures of the period wrote works in this field. With the proclamation of the Republic, similar debates continued in public opinion in parallel with the steps taken towards the institutionalization of Turkish theater. With the establishment of the State Theaters in 1949, the approach that local plays would strengthen Turkish theater was discussed even more intensely in public opinion. From past to present, it has been determined how much space is allocated to Turkish play performances in state theaters. Within the scope of the thesis, the number of local plays performed between 1949 and 2000 is indicated year by year. Accordingly, the number of domestic plays staged in the State Theater after 2000 was compared with the past period. In the study, the five Turkish plays that attracted the most attention between 2000 and 2023 were identified and the similarities, content and structural features of these five plays were discussed.