Main trends

Starting from the 1990s, many young playwrights and different original texts have appeared in the Turkish theatre scene. Since 2000, with the opening of new theatre venues and the foundation of new theatre groups, many original and contemporary productions have been produced. After 2000 there have also been a significant number of translations from different Western playwrights. These translations from English theatre include sex and violence, and have attracted the attention of young theatre groups and audiences. Especially Dot Theatre is a pioneer, producing plays by Mark Ravenhill, Simon Stephens, and Philip Ridley. Turkish playwrights who write for DOT also concentrate on sex, violence and the problems of the modern man. Contemporary German plays, translated by Sibel Arslan Yeşilay, have also been staged by both independent and funded theatres.  With the opening of the Dot Theatre, many small theatre venues started to appear, mainly in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul.

Theatre companies like Talimhane Theatre and Izmit Municipal Theatre have produced plays and supported young playwrights to write plays concentrating on today’s problems, focusing on social realism.

Ve Diğer Şeyler Tiyatro Topluluğu has directed the New Text New Theatre Program, and also translated texts by different playwrights from throughout the world, from Iran to Spain. They have also stimulated young playwrights from Turkey to write their plays without being influenced by any form or norm.