Istanbul Gelisim University - Pandemic had earned Shakespeare recognition

Pandemic had earned Shakespeare recognition

While the theater director and academician Dr. Önder Paker stated that he should not be desperate in his special message for the World Theater Day, which is celebrated every year on March 27, said: “The great plague epidemic in London in the late 1580s caused theaters to close and gave Shakespeare recognition. The Covid-19 epidemic we are experiencing today may also add brand new features to the art of theater technically.”

Making special statements on March 27, World Theater Day, Asst. Prof. Dr. Önder Paker, Theater director and academician from Istanbul Gelisim University Faculty of Fine Arts published a message titled "Without Losing the Enthusiasm of the Theater".

Dr. Önder Paker, who started his speech by saying “For a year, the stages are dark, the curtains are closed, the halls are empty, the applause has left its place to an eternal silence”,added: “Theaters, which started with the instinct of humankind for thousands of years to come together, narrate, play and share, and determined the humanization level of civilizations, are closed due to the virus epidemic. The theater, which is a live performance that brings the actor and the audience together in the same time period and in the same venue, had to close its doors with the virus epidemic.

Dr. Paker continued as follows:

“For a year now, theater artists have not been able to work with their actors, directors, decor costumers, illuminators, or influencers, or perform that enthusiastic act that brings together their art and life. Is it possible to extract art from the life of humanity? Could we have endured these isolating measures all this time if we were not listening to music with communication tools, visiting virtual painting and sculpture galleries, and not having movies? What about the theater? Theaters in all countries of the world are looking for ways to reach their audiences with recorded play footage or partially live broadcasts. What degree of theater counts as these digital transfers? No technique has yet been developed to replace the instant reactions of watching live performance on stage, and most importantly, the effect of watching the audience together. No matter how realistic it is made with the Hologram technique developed for three-dimensional images, what can replace seeing the actor's voice, skin and sweat, instant role magic on the stage? Interim measures, efforts to bring the play and the audience together in half-empty halls continue, but before the epidemic ends, the danger of getting sick and anxiety continues to negatively affect the art of theater.”

“THE OUTBREAK MADE THE RECOGNITION OF SHAKESPEARE”

Expressing that one should not be desperate, Dr. Önder Paker concluded his words with: "The great plague epidemic in London in the late 1580s caused the theaters to close and made Shakespeare known. The Covid-19 epidemic we are experiencing today may also add brand new features to the art of theater technically.”