Zinnie Harris’in Nefesinizi Nasıl Tutarsınız Adlı Oyununda Eşiktelik, Direnç ve Mülteci Olma

Abstract

İskoç oyun yazarı Zinnie Harris’in Nefesinizi Nasıl Tutarsınız (2015) adlı distopik tiyatro oyunu, sadece kasvetli bir geleceği yansıtmakla kalmaz, aynı zamanda Avrupa'nın ekonomik bir çöküşten geçtiği ve Avrupalıların mülteci haline gelerek teknelerle Afrika ülkelerine göç etmeye çalıştığı yıkıcı ve tersine bir anlatıyı gözler önüne serer. Oyunda, müşteri ilişkileri konusunda uzman, üniversite mezunu ve iddialı kariyer planları olan ana karakter Dana ve kız kardeşi Jasmine, pek çok Avrupalı gibi bir tekneye binip Mısır'ın İskenderiye kentine ulaşmaya çalışmaktadır. Dana'nın ve kız kardeşinin hayatlarının; Dana’nın, Birleşmiş Milletler'de çalışan ve kendisinin şeytan olduğunu iddia eden Jarron adında bir adamla cinsel ilişkiye girmesinin ardından alt üst olması tesadüf değildir. Şeytan tarafından düzenlenen ve felaketlerle sonuçlanan olayların ardından, oyunun sonunda her iki kadın da son yıllardaki mültecilerin çoğunluğu gibi deniz yolculuğunu tamamlayamadan boğulur. Bu çalışmada, Dana ve Jasmine'in oyun boyunca yaşadıkları deneyimler ve gösterdikleri direnç, özellikle eşikteliğin anlamı ve eşiğin ötesine geçmenin imkânı/imkânsızlığına odaklanılarak “eşiktelik” kavramı çerçevesinde ele alınacaktır. Makale, Zinnie Harris'in bu oyunda, Avrupalıları ve Avrupa siyasetini sarsmaya ve mültecilerin kişisel/siyasi çıkarların kurbanı haline geldiklerini göstermeye çalıştığını ve böylece yazarın mülteci sorununu eleştirel bir şekilde yeniden ele aldığını ve bunu yaparken ironik bir şekilde seyirciyi/okuyucuyu eşikte olma durumuna soktuğunu iddia etmektedir.

Keywords

• eşiktelik
• mültecilik
• direnç
• Zinnie Harris
• Nefesinizi Nasıl Tutarsınız

Liminality, Resilience and Refugeehood in Zinnie Harris’s How to Hold Your Breath

Abstract

The dystopian play How to Hold Your Breath (2015) written by Scottish playwright Zinnie Harris not only echoes a bleak future, but also visualises a subversive narrative in which Europe goes through an economic collapse, and Europeans become refugees, trying to immigrate to African countries on boats. Dana, the protagonist who is an expert in customer relations with a university degree and ambitious career plans, and her sister Jasmine are seen getting on a boat and trying to reach Alexandria, Egypt just like many other Europeans. It is not coincidental that Dana’s and her sister’s lives turn topsy-turvy after Dana’s having a sexual intercourse with a man working for the United Nations named Jarron who claims that he is a demon. Due to a couple of catastrophic events orchestrated by the demon, both women get drowned at the end like a majority of refugees in recent years. In this study, the experiences of Dana and Jasmine throughout the play and their resilience will be explored within the framework of the concept of “liminality” with a special focus on the meaning and (im) possibility of going beyond liminality. The article contends that Zinnie Harris in her play critically revisits the refugee problem in order to unsettle Europeans and European politics and to demonstrate how refugees are made the victims of personal/political expediency by ironically putting the audience/readers in a liminal situation.

Keywords

• Liminality
• Refugeehood
• Resilience
• Zinnie Harris
• How to Hold Your Breath

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