The Theatre of Myths & Tragedies: Re-Imagining Istanbul’s Historical Narratives
Within certain historical sites of Istanbul, where guides inform visitors, they bring in an element of the mystical in their stories, relating to film, the unknown, and fictional.
Experimenting through elements of historical architecture such as the Corinthian columns and the Ottoman subdivided Muqarnas, created a spatial relationship where the practice of archaeology and theatrical performance is merged, to propose a re-imagining of Istanbul’s past, based on factual-fictional narratives.
Investigating the relationship between the visitor experience with the Medusa heads in the Basilica Cistern, it was found that the spatial relationship through the historical changes of the water levels within the cistern are a tipping point where reality meets fiction through a fantastical and uncanny journey.
Carrying on this narrative to 2024 and beyond, disturbing the Medusa/Shahmaran cursed Istanbul to run out of fresh water, and fall into ruin of the Bosphorus and Marmara sea. The theatre is therefore set in the Seraglio point, where both sides of Istanbul are in view and the rising sea levels will eventually flood, falling back into ruin.
The theatre is in the Seraglio Point of Istanbul, framing the Maiden Tower. The theatre proposed is an immersive accommodation for recently excavated Byzantine and Roman ruins, hosting a space where tourists, archaeologists and creatives meet.
Inspired by legends of the Medusa heads in the Basilica Cistern, the arrival by boat welcomes visitors with a corridor integrating columns of a hybridised Corinthian and Muqarnas structure. The Storyteller greets visitors here and guides them.
Earlier research and experimentation looked into retelling the myths of Medusa's tomb being discovered by the Ottomans in the Basilica Cistern.
The hybridised columns have been integrated structurally across the theatrical experience, with the tales of Medusa carried through architecturally.
The storyteller guides the visitors to the main theatre, derived from a traditional Greek structure. Performers descend from in between and the plays take place in accordance to the tidal times which flood the orchestra pit, reflecting the ruin.
As a continuation of the hybridised columns, mythmaking on-site also occurs through sculpting. Here, the Storyteller journeys around the studio by the salt pools, he pays respect to the statue of Ataturk and shows the sculptors at work.