The Turkish shadow theatre gets its name from its primary hero, Karagöz (“Black Eye” in Turkish) and a Persian origin has been suggested by some (see Iran). His predicaments remind us of Punch in England, Hanswurst[lier] in Germany, [lier]Kasperl in Austria, and Polichinelle and Guignol in France. The burlesque performance, seemingly harmless, defies constraint in a spirit of satire, and has enchanted the public, especially the Ottoman middle class, for hundreds of years.

A Theatre of Shadows

“At the inn in a large room, opening on the little platform of the entrance, stuffed, for the evenings’ performances, with all the young crowd of the quarter, packed in to see the simple guignol, yet also the authentic, old-style Karaguez karagöz, illuminated by the lamp shining behind the white cloth screen on which float the coloured shadows of the popular puppet show. A rare curiosity, to see the parade of the men on the street of this local anthill, through these slight plays of a thousand-year-old repertory” (André Antoine).

A performance of the Ottoman cities, karagöz was shown in the popular cafés, especially during the month of Ramadan, sometimes in the open air. And in private homes for celebration of a circumcision or of a winter evening. At the palace and in the homes of dignitaries, this art produced performers who excelled with their verve for satire, Persian and Arabic literary knowledge, as well as their understanding of philosophy and music. These were such performers as Hasanzade Mehmet Çelebi, much appreciated by Sultan Murat IV (1623-1640); Rıza Efendi, the performer for Sultan Abdülaziz (1861-1876); or Hayali Mehmed, who played for Sultan Abdülhamid II (1876-1909).

The flat figures traditionally are made by the showman from hide – camel, water buffalo, cow or calf – which is translucent from the washing, scraping, and polishing. The outlines and the details of the design are cut and incised on a table of lime wood with a dozen types of sharp steel blades (nevrekân). Using Chinese ink the lines and details of the costume are traced and painted with vegetable dyes in lively, translucent colours, which each maker keeps secret. The figures are attached to each other by a string of gut. They are, during their role on stage, articulated at the neck, the waist or legs, and, for some, at the arms – as in the case of female dancers and Karagöz, the eponymous hero. Their size ranges from 24 to 40 centimetres, and depends on their use, their importance, or their strength. Decorative elements and animals range from 7 to 45 centimetres. Formerly, according to the size of the performance space, there were three sizes of figures.

The screen is of thin white cloth measuring about 1 or 1.10 metres by 60 to 80 centimetres. It is lit from behind by an electric bulb (in the past by a candle or flame), which casts the shadows as the coloured silhouettes which the performer dances.

The Manipulator and the Troupe

The puppet master (karagözcü) operates the figures with the aid of wooden rods 50 to 60 centimetres in length, affixed at the attachment point, generally on the figure’s shoulder, but sometimes the arms. The manipulation is horizontal. Virtuosity is seen in the number of figures that can be moved at the same time until that alone can provide the spectacle. The performer must be very clever, a good actor, have a strong memory, a good voice and possess a level of culture, and musical ability. The apprentice (çırak) adds sound effects, plays the flute, drum (düdük) and tambourine (def) to mark the entrance of each character, which he holds for the performer and then reprises when the figure is leaving the scene. After debuting and once one has acquired sufficient expertise, if it is merited the performer is given title of Master (Hayali, “one who animates the shadow play”, “image creator”). Generally, the puppeteer is very involved in the shadow theatre. He makes and manipulates and masters the total traditional repertory.

Formerly, a troupe was composed of the following six: the puppet master (karagözcü,hayali, usta), his apprentice (çırak), a secondary apprentice (sandıkkâr, lit. “the one who takes care of the trunk”), the porter or carrier (hamal), the singer (yardak), the tambourine player (dayrezen) who provides the sound effect for the hits. An ensemble (çalgı) plays before the performance and during the interludes, and accompanies the songs and dances with a large drum (davul), oboe-like reed instrument (zurna), a shepherd’s flute (kaval), zither (kanun), large and small bowed lute (keman and kemançe), a goblet drum (darbuka), stick drum (nakkare), cymbals (zil), shaken instrument with small bells on the end (zillimaşa), bagpipe (tulum), long-necked lute (saz or baylama), short-necked lute (ud), and gourd fiddle (kaba). Instruments are replaced in the current period with a sound system, disk player, and CDs. A bell chimes, the decoration displayed on the screen vanishes, the sound sharpens and buzzes, the wooden reed whistle (nareke) sounds… the play begins.