Ethnocultural Diversity in the Balkans and the Caucasus, pp. 321-334, 2023/02/09
Greek communities around the Black Sea and in the hinterland developed remarkable cultural activity in the period in the fin de siècle, mostly in theater performances and musical or literary events. This activity can be divided, like in the Balkan area, into professional performances by itinerant theatre companies and local amateur troupes, often linked to the Greek schools present in these communities. In both cases, the topics of the repertory were patriotic: In the regions of the Ottoman Empire in a more cryptic way, in Russian territories and the lands of the Balkan peninsula, a straight forward enhancement of national identity through the cultivation of language and historical consciousness (school festivals celebrating the national day). For the itinerant Greek companies based in Athens or Constantinople, which mostly played sentimental or folkloristic and historical plays, this touring activity was a survival strategy as local Greek communities were eager to see theatre performances in their native language covering traditional Greek topics. This was not the case with French companies of Italian opera troupes. Professional and amateur theater production in Greek had a specific cultural function of cultivating ethnic consciousness and native language in a foreign country.
Keywords: Theatre Performances, Amateur Theater, Touring Companies, Professional Theatre
