HULIYA ARSLAN

Master's degree from Okan University (Turkey)

The origins of Turkish theater go back to the distant Middle Ages. At that time, the shadow theater "Karagez" and the square theater "Ortaoynu"were very popular among the population. Under the open sky, everyday scenes were played out in front of the audience, understandable and familiar to everyone, in which evil was always punished, and justice triumphed.

Historians of the Turkish theater call the birth date of modern theater in Turkey 1908, when the long-term despotic regime of Sultan Abdul Hamid I was overthrown. Changes in society also affected the state of literature, art and theater life in Turkey. Previously banned plays by Namyk Kemal ¹ and Shemsettin Sami ² were performed in many theaters in different parts of Istanbul, and theater companies began to tour the country. In the atmosphere introduced by the constitutional changes, theater groups chose works that addressed issues of justice and equality, and condemned the brutality of the Ottoman authorities. In addition to the works of Turkish writers, the audience was shown excerpts from plays by Hugo and Shakespeare translated into Turkish.

The appearance of separate small groups of actors gave rise to the idea of creating a national Turkish theater, and in Istanbul, under the patronage of the municipality, the so - called House of Beauty-Darulbedai ³ was founded . The representatives of Turkish art gathered under its roof were in a state of creative search. Among them was Muhsin Ertugrul (1892-1979), who later became one of the founders of modern Turkish theater. Under the influence of the famous Armenian actor Vahram Papazian (1888-1968) and impressed by the performance of French theater companies that came to Istanbul on tour, Ertugrul went to France in 1911. It was there, in France, that he first got acquainted with the Russian theater.

After returning to his homeland, in 1912, Ertugrul staged Hamlet. The play brought him his first success, and he was invited to Darulbedai. But soon he decides to create his own independent theater "Ferakh".

In the history of the Turkish theater, 1925 is called the "Ferah Theater period", because it was then that bright avant-garde productions appeared on the stage, including L. N. Tolstoy's" Kreutzer Sonata " with M. Ertugrul as Poznichev. He had read Tolstoy's work in the weekly supplement to the Paris-based newspaper Comedie and was delighted with it. The performance was released on stage under the title "Adventure".

One of the most difficult tasks for Ertugrul, without a doubt, was the selection of plays. At this stage, the theater faced a serious problem - how to translate the plays that they wanted to put on into Turkish? In his memoirs, Muhsin Ertugrul says:"...The income we received from the performances was so small compared to the amount of labor and time that was required for translation that this work could not attract anyone from outside the company. For this reason, the translation of the works that we planned to play should also be done by ourselves... " From December 1924 to May 1925, that is, within five months, 23 plays were staged at the Ferakh Theater, but due to lack of funds, the theater was closed.

FIRST CONTACTS

After the First World War, the once mighty Ottoman Empire collapsed. In Turkey, under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the national liberation movement began, which ended with the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. In 1917, the Russian Empire fell, and the emerging Soviet Russia became very attractive to neighboring countries. For Turkey, it was a model of new relations between people, and advanced Turkish intellectuals were attracted here.

One of the first to arrive in Moscow in 1921 was the young Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet (1902-1963). He was overwhelmed by a rushing wave of anger.-

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It was a great place to live, especially in the theater: at that time, outstanding directors V. E. Meyerhold and K. S. Stanislavsky worked here. Later, Nazim Hikmet met the well-known writer S. M. Tretyakov (a member of the Left Front of Arts), which was the impetus for the creation of the first theatrical works by the Turkish writer ^.4

After the signing of the Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Culture between the Republic of Turkey and the USSR in 1925, bilateral relations in this area continued to develop thanks to the joint efforts of the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations (VOKS) and state and semi-official cultural institutions of Turkey. M. Ertugrul also took part in establishing contacts between the two countries. After the Ferakh Theater closed, he went to the Soviet Union at the invitation of People's Commissar of Education A. Lunacharsky.

In articles written for Turkish newspapers, M. Ertugrul shared his first impressions of the Russian theater with the Turkish reader:"...Everyone who, like me, has come to Russia for the first time or recently returned to it, is amazed at the path that has passed, how much Russian theater has developed in a short time. Not only the left-wing theaters founded after the revolution took a step forward, but also those serious groups that did not change their old understanding of theatrical art... Many theaters, which before the revolution tried to make do only with their own income, after the revolution felt much freer, having received state support, and therefore made such progress... New theaters are being created in every city and almost every village... New generations are extremely interested in the theater, and new forces come to the theater, which ensures its vitality and development. " ⁵ In the same article, Muhsin Ertugrul describes the difference in the position of artists and intellectuals of the two countries:

"...Until the mid-1920s, Turkish theaters not only did not receive any help, but were also doomed to death, being forced to give 35% of the money earned by their own descendants to their owner and pay 25% tax. The "diehards" may realize years later how much society needs the theater, but then they will not be able to find even the graves and remains of artists who were once condemned to death, starved to death."

M. Ertugrul also wrote an article about Vsevolod Meyerhold, whose plays he watched during his stay in Moscow. The article was titled " Meyerhold: A New Path in Theater." In it, he noted:"...From the naturalism professed by the Art Theater, this famous actor gradually moves to an understanding of symbolism, and this current moves Meyerhold away from the Art Theater and takes him in a new direction... For this reason, on the third anniversary of the revolution, the Meyerhold Theater was founded, laying the foundations of the revolutionary theater, which aimed at educating a new person for a new society, giving him a new spirit. " ⁶ Further in the article, Muhsin Erturgul discusses the technical and stage features of the Meyerhold Theater, and talks in detail about its first productions.

In a month M. Ertugrul wrote another article, which was called " Do not lower yourself to the level of the people, but raise their level." In it, the author shares in detail with readers his impressions of the brilliant directorial work of V. E. Meyerhold. Ertugrul not only spoke about the master of the stage, but also touched upon a very important topic for his country - the role and place of theater in Turkish society. He wrote: "By calling art 'popular' and trying to instill in the masses a taste for art, Meyerhold did not stoop to bad taste, but, on the contrary, developed the tastes of society. By increasing the level of art and his own perception, he also increases the level of the audience. This was supposed to destroy some outdated approaches: in order to raise the level of the people, you can not go down, but you need to go up. The misconceptions that prevail among us must change ... " ⁷

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Fundamental changes in theatrical life, the important place that theater occupied in Soviet society, struck M. Ertugrul. The fact is that in Turkey, in the same years, the foundations of the republican system were laid, but unlike in Russia, here art receded into the background, it was given much less attention than it should have been. Muhsin Ertugrul, being not only a patriot of his homeland, but also a passionate fan of theater, understood the shortcomings of this approach to culture and at every opportunity persistently pointed it out. What he saw in Moscow made him even more worried about the situation at home. "In Europe, I consider the Swedes to be the most refined and well-mannered people, and I attribute this to the fact that this nation has not known war for a hundred years. But the Russians? Four years (Civil War) of war, famine, disease, blood, strife... Then there is the need to restore and rebuild what was destroyed. And along with this-a lot of attention to science and art. Art, art, art!

It may be difficult for a person from another country to understand what this means, but it is easier for a Turk to understand it. Because we in Turkey also experienced four years of war, then fought for independence for four years, fought against fanaticism. And before that, the bloodshed in the Balkans lasted almost as long. And finally, today!

The difference between us is that during the feuds we lost and finished off science and art, while they, on the contrary, nourished, developed and revived them. Whenever I tried to draw attention to art in Turkey, I heard from all sides: "Now is not the time!", no matter who I turned to, I always got the answer: "There are more important problems" ⁸ .

These articles and the point of view expressed in them were published by one of the most important and popular daily newspapers in Turkey at that time, "Vaquit", and attracted public attention. First of all, the Turkish intelligentsia and representatives of the arts had the opportunity to see through the eyes of the master theatrical life and a new approach to art and, to some extent, the path that should have been followed. In addition, it was useful to periodically make such critical comments about the state of art in Turkey and the state's attitude towards it, so that in the first years of the Republic's existence, top-ranking officials could turn their faces to art and culture.

What he saw in the USSR gave M. Ertugrul the right to speak in his articles about the role of theater, which he had to take in the life of Turkish society. After all, in Moscow, M. Ertugrul received not only an idea of the diversity of theatrical skills, but also of its impact on the Soviet audience. There was a desire to stay in the USSR for a longer time, to see as much as possible in this country, but this required funds. He approached Goskino with a proposal for cooperation, as he had cinematic experience working in Germany and Istanbul. Negotiations were completed successfully, and M. Ertugrul started working for the director M. C. Gricher.

Until March 1926, Muhsin Ertugrul worked in Moscow, in the script department of Goskino, and then, on the recommendation of the leftist S. M. Tretyakov, he went to the film studio in Odessa. Here he directed the film "Spartacus", later called by the French film historian Jean Mitri"the first epic film of Soviet cinema". M. Ertugrul's work in cinema during this period (by that time he had already learned Russian), when his closest colleagues were S. M. Tretyakov and S. M. Eisenstein, deserves to be the subject of a separate article.

In January 1927, Ertugrul arrived in Turkey, hoping to return to the USSR soon, but an important appointment awaited him - he was offered the position of chief director of the Darulbedai Theater. Thus, the artist was able to apply the theatrical experience he gained abroad and in his own country. Having become the head of this theater, M. Ertugrul updated not only the repertoire, but also the time frame of work was set, and a kind of acting charter was adopted, which allowed to provide the necessary discipline.

At the same time, in the light of the demands made by representatives of the arts, headed by M. Ertugrul, on June 25, 1927, a law was adopted providing for exemption from taxation of concerts and performances of an educational nature. After that, he worked in theater as one of the main art forms in the Turkish Republic.-

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important changes took place in the republic: the problems of modern stage equipment, the rules of artists ' work were considered together, and the composition of the repertoire was now carried out taking into account the opinion of the public, which previously was not taken into account. All this was aimed at increasing theater attendance in the country.

Muhsin Ertugrul, who headed the theater, first performed on its stage on March 9, 1927 in the title role in the play "Hell", based on the play" Father " by the Swedish writer A. Strinberg. The next great success of the master was the production of "Hamlet", which gained great popularity due to a new interpretation of scenes, an unconventional approach and acting. "Hamlet" was performed on this stage before, but the performance lasted only a few screenings. This time the hall was full for the first time in two weeks. Here it is necessary to quote an excerpt from the notes of M. Ertugrul, made by him after watching Hamlet at the Moscow Art Theater. "When I watched" Hamlet "in Moscow, my memory was revived by the performances of" Hamlet " seen in large and small cities of Europe. I felt with particular acuteness that everything I had thought and seen in connection with Hamlet was layered in my head and expanded so much that my skull almost cracked. All the Hamlets I had seen and enjoyed, from the Comedie Francaise to the little traveling theaters, came to life before my eyes...

Everyone, even the extras in the Art Theater, played so perfectly that when I was asked about my impressions at the end, I didn't know what to say. It seemed impossible for me to find words of praise for what I saw without being afraid to belittle the greatness of art with some featureless phrases. When I saw the actor who played the role of the king, I thought that this was a real historical person.

After seeing such a great creation, everyone will only do what I have done, can express what I have expressed."⁹

CHEKHOV ON THE TURKISH STAGE

Thanks to M. Ertugrul, Turkish viewers got acquainted with the work of A. P. Chekhov. The director first staged A. P. Chekhov's short play "The Bear" on the Darulbedai stage in 1931, translated by B. Tuncel [¹⁰] from French into Turkish. Later, on this stage, Ertugrul staged The Cherry Orchard, which was translated directly from Russian by V. Gultekin [¹¹] and V. Nurettin [¹²]. The play was published by one of the most famous publishing houses in the country "Ulkyu". The brief preface to the publication stated that " ... the Russian theater, both with its plays and stage art, has rendered a great service in the development of realistic theater, and in this respect a great role belongs to A. P. Chekhov. The Moscow Art Theater was born on the basis of his ideas and thanks to his works stepped forward..."

In 1944, the publishing house "Remzi" published four plays by A. P. Chekhov at once: "Three Sisters" in the translation of X. Ali Ediza ¹³, "The Cherry Orchard" translated by G. Guney ¹⁴ and Sh. Ilter ¹⁵, "Uncle Vanya" in the translation of G. Guney and "The Seagull" in the translation of X. Ali Ediza.

"Three Sisters" was staged at the Istanbul City Theater in 1944, immediately after the book was published. During the theater season of 1944-1945, M. Ertugrul staged another play by A. P. Chekhov - "Uncle Vanya". The main role was played by Kani Kypchak (1911-1984), and Elena Andreevna was successfully played by the famous actress Jahide Sonka (1916 - 1981). In 1947, A. P. Chekhov's play "The Proposal", translated in 1940 by G. Guney by order of the Ministry of National Education, was shown on the Experimental Stage of the State Conservatory. In the preface to its publication, it was written that "the purpose of translating one-act plays is to prepare students for their perception of larger works." ¹⁶ In 1966, the play was shown on the stage of the State Theater in Bursa and became the first work of Anton Chekhov staged outside of Istanbul.

In the 50s and 60s of the last century, there was a certain cooling in Turkish - Soviet relations, and A. P. Chekhov's plays disappeared from the stages of Turkish theaters. A period of stagnation began, when state cultural institutions managed to do very little in the field of art, and almost no new plays were staged.

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But in the early 60s, private theaters appeared, and the country's stage life revived. In one of these theaters - Kentler Tiatrosu - "The Seagull"was staged. The director and performer of the role of Zarechnaya was Yildiz Kenter, who is rightfully considered one of the most talented Turkish actresses (later her work will be awarded a number of awards). The first translation of" The Seagull " was made by B. Nejatigil [¹⁷], but the translation by A. Behramoglu [¹⁸] was used on the theater stage . After the success of" The Seagull", the Kentler Tiatrosu Theater in 1970 included "Three Sisters"in its repertoire.

Stagnation in the theatrical art was replaced by a revival: new productions appeared, books devoted to the theater began to be published. The most voluminous book was Z. Bashtimar ¹⁹ "The Life and Artistic works of Chekhov", published in 1960, dedicated to the centenary of the birth of the great writer. In the same year, other publications about the Russian playwright appeared. However, the Turkish audience got acquainted with the famous play "Ivanov" only in 1970, when the play appeared on the stage of the Istanbul City Theater.

In 1986, one of the leading actors Genjay Gyuryun, who headed the troupe of the Istanbul City Theater, went to Moscow to study Russian theater art. A well-known director of the Mayakovsky Theater, L. E. Kheifets, came to Turkey to stage "The Cherry Orchard". He accepted the invitation with difficulty, as he could not connect in his mind the eastern city of Istanbul and the tender poetic characters of Chekhov. However, with the beginning of work on the play, these thoughts began to disappear. He was very pleased with how the Turkish actors understood the work of the Russian classic.

"The Cherry Orchard" was released in 1986 at the Istanbul City Theater, and from that moment the era of Chekhov's plays directed by Heifetz began. The director periodically came to Turkey and released here in 1986 "Three Sisters", and in 1991 - "Uncle Vanya". Apparently, the theater critic Tilbe Saran was absolutely right when she wrote that " on the theater stage, Chekhov is one of the most difficult exams. When in 1991 I took the Sonya exam at Uncle Van, and I learned a lot from Heifetz... In the texts of Chekhov's works, it is necessary to find the author who hides more than reveals himself, to explore the characters of the characters who do not tell more than they say... Parsing a text with a director means traveling to a foreign country with a guide... Just as the colors and patterns come to life on an old mosaic that is poured with a bucket of water after it has been buried in the ground for many years, so the images of Uncle Vanya, Sonya, Elena, Astrov and others, and with them the whole of Russia, become more distinct as Kheifets talks about them, pictures they become more vivid, voluminous, and even animated. " ²⁰

Well-known director Bashar Sabunju tells about the current state of productions of A. P. Chekhov's plays and the projection of the Master's dramatic art on the stages of Turkish theaters. In 2001, he released a five-act play "Everything is in one Garden", which the director-producer calls "a symphony based on Chekhov's works". B. Sabunju intersperses the original Chekhov texts with his own lines This is how the performance is described :" We combined scenes from 5 large plays by Chekhov and made their main characters meet in one garden. In this stage work, the main intrigues of the plays are concentrated in a tight time frame and in a limited space, and it can be said that the heroes of "Uncle Vanya" and "Three Sisters" are watching "The Seagull" in the "Cherry Orchard"... At the same time, the cherry orchard is not Uncle Vanya's house or Sorin's estate or the Prozorovs ' yard, but an imaginary theater garden in which they all meet... Chekhov's Garden, i.e. a theater stage, the floor of which is covered with dried grass and "paved" with countless cherry trees cut down and sawn into boards. And over this barren land, the moon is born, its light is reflected in the water, and, as the Master himself wrote, happiness is born and lives are broken..."²¹

Academic representative and critic Sevda Schoener,

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A well-deserved authority in the theater world, she writes: "Chekhov's characters are people who live in a period of great social changes, but are not able to understand this great process or adapt to it in a short period of their lives."²² . In the 2004/2005 season, on the occasion of the centenary of Chekhov's death, the play "I Wish You a Long Life" was performed at the Istanbul City Theater, based on his works "The Proposal", "On the Dangers of Tobacco" and "The Bear". The performance was made by the well-known Turkish director Isil Kasapoglu and was presented by him as "a bouquet of short comedies by Anton Chekhov, the founder of modern dramatic art".

Even today, the Turkish theater continues to show us pictures of the "human comedy" through A. P. Chekhov's plays, to acquaint us with the oddities of people's lives that we encounter every day, but we don't have enough time to notice them. We notice with a bitter smile how small joys, hidden sorrows and broken destinies of the characters on the stage remind us very much of what happens to us in life.

¹ Намык Кемаль (1840 - 1888). Famous Turkish poet and writer, who is called the national poet in the country. With his works, he constantly provoked the wrath of the sultan, because of which the ruler repeatedly sent him into exile. The main stage work of Kemal was the play "Homeland, or Silistria", written by him in 1872.

² Shamsettin Sami (1850-1904). Linguist and writer. He was published in many Turkish newspapers and magazines. One of the most prominent figures of Tanzimat.

³ Darulbedai was established on the initiative of the Chairman of the Istanbul Municipality Cemil Topuz (1866-1958) in 1914, as a conservatory where one could receive musical and theatrical education. Since 1915, it began to put on performances, and in 1920, its acting team was turned into a professional theater troupe. In 1930, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey transferred it to the Municipality of Istanbul, and from 1934 it became known as the Istanbul City Theater.

^{Sverchevskaya A. K.} 4 Known and unknown Nazym Hikmet. Moscow, IV RAS Publ., 2001.

^{Muhsin Ertugrul.} 5 Stages passed by the Russian theater. "Vaquit", 27.05.1925.

^{Muhsin Ertugrul.} 6 People who opened a new path in the theater. Vremya, 04.10.1925.

^{Muhsin Ertugrul.} 7 Not to stoop to the level of the people, but to raise their level. "Vaquit", 05.11.1925.

^{Muhsin Ertugrul.} 8 Shakespeare's Hamlet or the Russians ' Hamlet? "Vaquit", 10.10.1925.

⁹ Ibid.

¹⁰ Bedrettin Tuncel (1910-1980). Professor of French Language and Literature, employee of the Translation Agency of the Ministry of National Education.

¹¹ Vakhdet Gultekin (1913-1989). Writer, translator.

¹² Vala Nurettin (1901-1967). Writer, journalist. Together with Nazim Hikmet, he studied at the Communist University of the Workers of the East.

¹³ Hasan Ali Ediz (1904-1972). Translator and theater critic. In 1924, he went to Moscow, where he studied economics and sociology. After returning to Turkey, he successfully translated the works of Russian writers.

¹⁴ Ghaffar Guney (1895-1955). He taught Russian at Ankara University and translated a large number of works by Russian writers into Turkish.

¹⁵ Shahap Ilter (1915-1992). Writer, author of novels and plays.

^{Cehov, Anton,} 16 " Teklif "("Sentence"), translated by Ghaffar Guney, Istanbul, MEV Konservatuar Yaymlan, 1940.

¹⁷ Nejatigil Behchet (1916-1979). Writer, translator.

¹⁸ Behramoglu Ataola. Modern Turkish poet, translator, specialist in Russian language and literature.

¹⁹ Bashtimar Zeki (1908-1973). One of the founders of the Turkish Communist Party. He received a higher education in Moscow. He translated the works of many Russian writers into Turkish.

^{Tilbe Saran.} 20 Preparation for Chekhov. Adam Sanat Dergisi Magazine, darahk 2004, p. 227.

^{Bashar Sabunju.} 21 All in one garden. Adam Sanat Dergisi Magazine, darahk 2004, p. 227.

^{Sevda Shener.} 22 Time and Space in Anton Chekhov's Plays, Golge Tiyatro, mart 2004, p. 5.

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