Investigation and Conservation: Assessing the Impact of Recent Interventions at the Theatre of Smyrna (Modern Izmir)

Many ancient theatres as places of performance have outstanding universal value as 'venues' that have witnessed physical and socio-economical changes through time. Various scales of modern interventions have affected them and in Turkey the authorities mostly interprete them as a resource of socio-economic value. This paper aims to examine recent efforts to understand the cultural importance of the Smyrna theatre and to assess contemporary approaches to its conservation, reuse, and management. International documents on ancient places of performance, assessment of modern interventions are reviewed and the phases of discovery and rediscovery described. Four aspects describe its cultural significance: Understanding the Place, Interpreting the Place, Preserving the Spirit of the Place, and Managing the Place. Interpretation of the theatre is still in progress, though limited by a focus on its potential us by the local authorities. Its spirit as a place of performance has not been preserved but is in high demand, and its management has deficiencies, although to some extent this is being addressed by the local authorities of the port city of Izmir.