Conclusions
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their antagonistic nature and narratives of terror are evident, their positive role manifests in delimitating the middle space of interaction - the ‘pure’ Cypriot public sphere. Furthermore, the informal attitude to security at the south enhances interethnic interactions and enables contact; however, the checkpoint is not a place of contact on its own. The institutional role of the checkpoint and the theatricality embedded in the praxis of crossing are two key factors in overcoming psychological boundaries. The role of space in enhancing interactions is therefore to enable the manifestation of spaces of exception as places where exceptional things may happen, rather than as zones of exclusion. This study has revealed that seemingly agonistic and pro-reconciliatory practices might not enhance interethnic interactions as intended, but instead prevent them from even happening. The example of the rally indicates the spatial nature of the problem. Furthermore, spatial structures revolving around the production of observerspectacle relationships, such as the concert, reproduce existing interethnic interactions rather than create new ones, while maintaining a form of contact that is bound by the hierarchical relationship of the spectacle rather than praxis. The Home for Cooperation does enhance interethnic interactions, being the only meeting space within the Cypriot sphere of the buffer zone, yet it fails to attract more prejudiced people due to its cohesive nature. Contact created at the Home is certainly meaningful, but not transformative. The bi-communality of the buffer zone in these cases becomes the predominant perception of the space. A common thread between the discussed spaces and spatial practices is the role of the theatre and the city as it relates to the urban experience and social issues. It has not appeared as a vehicle or lens to view and understand life within the contested city, yet emerges as the major spatial device for creating shared space in the buffer zone.