Direniş Olarak Yerli Tiyatrosu: 1980’lerin Sonundan 1990’ların Başına Kanada’nın Gelişmekte Olan Yerli Tiyatro Sahnesinin Bir Merkezi Olarak Toronto

Year 2023, Volume: 1 Issue: 2, 116 - 134, 26.09.2023

Raphaela Pavlakos

Abstract

1980’lerin sonu ve 1990’ların başı, Kanada’nın en büyük şehri olan Toronto’daki Yerli Tiyatro sahnesi için büyük bir gelişme dönemiydi. Bu makale, geleneksel ve hegemonik Kanada kültürel üretiminin sınırlarında bir alan olan Yerli Tiyatro sahnesinin gelişimine daha yakından bakmayı amaçlamaktadır. Yerli yaratıcıların kendileri için oluşturduğu bu alan, Kanada genelinde henüz bu ölçüde yer alamayan Yerli seslere ve hikâye anlatımına yer açmıştır. Bu alanın yaratılması, Yerli Tiyatrosu’nun Kanada ve Kuzey Amerika’da genişlemesine yol açmış ve aynı zamanda Yerli aktivizmi aracılığıyla hissedilen Yerli seslere yönelik ana akım ilgi ve alan oluşturmuştur. Bu çalışmada Kanada’nın ilk yerli tiyatro topluluğu olan Toronto merkezli Native Earth Performing Arts daha yakından incelenerek, Drew Hayden Taylor’ın (Curve Lake First Nations) Toronto at Dreamer’s Rock ve Daniel David Moses’ın (Delware/Tuscarora) Almighty Voice and His Wife adlı oyunları analiz edilecektir. Ayrıca bu makale bu iki metinde o dönemin çalışmalarında yaygın olan ortak temaların izini sürmeyi ve bu oyunların özellikle Toronto ve oradaki Yerli Tiyatro sahnesiyle olan ilişkileri bağlamında mekânla olan bağlantılarını ortaya çıkarmayı amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

Yerli Tiyatrosu, Kanada Tiyatrosu, Toronto (1980-1990), Native Earth Performing Arts, Direniş Olarak Tiyatrosu

Indigenous Theatre as Resistance: Toronto as a Nexus for Canada’s Burgeoning Indigenous Theatre Scene from Late 1980s to Early 1990s

Abstract

The late 1980s and early 1990s were times of great development for the Indigenous Theatre scene in Toronto, Canada’s largest city. This paper seeks to provide a closer look at the development of an Indigenous Theatre scene, a space on the fringes of traditional and hegemonic Canadian cultural production. This space, created by and for Indigenous creatives, made space for Indigenous voices and storytelling that did not yet exist to such a degree across Canada. The creation of this space led to the expansion of Indigenous Theatre across Canada and North America, as well as established mainstream interest and space for Indigenous voices, something that was felt through Indigenous activism of this time. By taking a closer look at Canada’s first Indigenous Theatre company, Native Earth Performing Arts, which is based in Toronto, as well as analyzing two fundamental texts, Drew Hayden Taylor’s (Curve Lake First Nations) Toronto at Dreamer’s Rock and Daniel David Moses’ (Delaware/Tuscarora) Almighty Voice and His Wife, this paper will trace the common themes in these two texts that were prevalent in the work of this time, as well as unpack the connection these plays have to place, specifically in their relation to Toronto and the Indigenous Theatre scene there.

Keywords

Indigenous Theatre, Canadian Theatre, Toronto (1980-1990), Native Earth Performing Arts, Theatre as Resistance

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