HOUSING THE RECIPROCAL AND TRANSFORMATIVE NATURE OF THEATRE: DISCLOSING AVANT-GARDE THEATRE’S UNBOUNDED ARCHITECTURES WITH HAYALHANE, PLAY AND FUSION OF HORIZONS

Date

2024-1

Author

Öztek, Elif

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The longstanding, intricate relationship between theatre and architecture is related to the dense spatiality of theatre, including the physical space, fictional space, and the participants’ imaginative spaces. Theatre’s multi-layered spatiality is also implicit in the theatrical term “hayalhane,” which literally means “house of imagination” but denotes theatre space, event, performance, and human imagination. This dense spatiality relies on the co-presence of audience and performers in the same architectural space, fostering a dynamic, reciprocal relationship. Hans-Georg Gadamer interprets this reciprocity as a play between the artwork and observer wherein their encounter transforms them as their horizons fuse. As a face-to-face event, theatre eventualizes play and fusion of horizons in physical, fictional, and imaginative spaces. Thus, beyond addressing its physical necessities, architecture delves into the ontology of theatre, prompting the question, “What does the theatre space house?” By highlighting the absence of inquiries into the constantly transforming paradigm of theatre space concerning human-human and human-space interactions, this thesis questions the relationship between theatre architecture and the ontology of theatre. It aims to disclose the relationship between performance, architectural space, and human life by unveiling theatre space’s nature beyond its physical requirements. The study focuses on avant-garde theatre as a paradigm shift in theatre space towards unbounded spaces that could house reciprocity and transformative power. The thesis rejects limiting avant-garde theatre to a historical period and redefines the concept of avant-garde within the context of the relationship between architecture and theatre. Following a conceptual, critical, and analytical methodology, it elaborates on Western and Turkish theatre spaces’ historical transformation, re-conceptualizes avant-garde, and scrutinizes the dense spatiality of theatre by dismantling hayalhane through Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics. By discussing contemporary avant-garde performance spaces within this framework, the study finds out that beyond the fictional performance world, theatre space houses a communicated, common imagination shared by all participants and transforms with reciprocal relations. This common, dynamic imagination intervenes in the physical space and turns it into a house of fusion of imaginations. The thesis argues that to house this reciprocal and transformative nature in constant flux; theatre unbounds itself from the physical limitations set by architecture and dissolves into other spaces. It finds out that by prioritizing experience and interactivity, architecture and theatre fuse into each other, creating a fluid, festive unity integrated into human life and imagination. Overall, the thesis contributes to architectural criticism by demonstrating theatre’s more profound relation to unbounded spaces and revealing theatre as an avant-garde endeavor within architecture.

Subject Keywords

Theatre space, avant-garde theatre and architecture, play, Gadamer’s fusion of horizons, reciprocal/transformative/imaginative/unbounded theatre space

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/108516

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Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis