Albert Nekimken’s Brecht in Turkey 1955-1977 is a unique study of the influence of Bertolt Brecht on theatre in Turkey during the twentieth century. Brecht, a German playwright, gained prominence in Turkey in the 1960s and 1970s and translations and productions of his plays appeared frequently. Nekimken describes the lasting influence that Brecht left on Turkish society in terms of literature and other spheres. Nekimken reveals how Turkish cultural, social and political life were all deeply influenced by Brecht’s thought and its unique interpretation by Turkish intellectuals. For this reason, the author identifies Brecht as the main reason for a renaissance in a number of areas of Turkish society in the mid- to late-twentieth century. Nekimken’s study is one of the few to look at the history of theatre in Turkey and the first of its kind to study Brecht’s role in it.
