THOMAS OSTERMEIER’S AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE IN ISTANBUL

Abstract

Wherever a theatrical event is encountered, and whatever type of performance or production is witnessed, one experiences an artform that demonstrates various kinds of conflict. The theatrical genre really does not matter; even pieces made as popular culture for immediate consumption rely on simple conflict to pique the curiosity of the spectator, who in all likelihood will consume the work tout de suite without necessarily registering this conflict. The very dynamics of drama are inscribed with conflict and it cuts across genres. Within these conflict-ridden dynamics, dialectics comes to the fore; they are the vital element of drama and actualise its potential to advance critical thinking. This cannot happen only on the page; without putting dialectics into practice, theatre cannot exercise its potency. The art of theatre is, by its nature, nothing short of the communal act that comes into passing with the palpability of the here and now. As such, its praxis cannot exist without an audience. And this symbiotic relationship between spectators and performers is redolent with the dialectics intrinsic to theatre. Theatre realises its potential to challenge established values, to resist dominant policies and—to use a well-worn expression—“to change the world” by raising the critical awareness of the audience through its dialectical features, even when changing the world is not the end in itself. That dialectics is a recurrent notion in discourses on contemporary directing urges one to explicitly frame the terms of an argument that is to be pursued throughout a piece of critical writing, such as the present article. Drawing on the deep-seated affiliation