Major theatre festival starts in Tashkent

October 2, 2010

The Pearl of the Orient shone in the light of drama ramps on the evening on October 2 – at "Theatre.UZ/2010", the First International Theatre Festival set up by the Fund Forum and the Youth Theatre of Uzbekistan, has started in Tashkent. For thousands of fans of one of the eternal arts, the Festival will present on the hospitable Uzbek land the creativity of foreign theaters, and undoubtedly will be a landmark event of this theatrical season.

The opening ceremony of the “Theatre.UZ/2010” festival took place at the Youth Theatre of Uzbekistan, with a welcoming speech by the artistic director of the Theatre, Nabi Abdurakhmanov:

- I want to express my gratitude to the Fund Forum for its active support of the festival. This is a momentous event not only for the theatrical life of Uzbekistan, but also a huge cultural breakthrough. Hopefully, the "Theatre.UZ/2010" theatrical festival will become a good tradition that will enrich the spiritual and cultural potential of our country. If back in 1947 Jean Velar did not offer the idea to hold the first international festival in Avignon, now the world-famous city would not even be noticed. We want to see Tashkent reach that level. Today, viewers have the opportunity to see new films from around the world and until now there hasn’t been an opportunity to get acquainted with theatrical productions and performances of other countries. Now, this cultural gap is filled. The role of theater in the education of youth is significant. New directions in popular culture are being replaced one by another and only theater is eternal and waiting for its audience!

The first performance of the festival was an Uzbek-Israeli production "The Enchanted Tailor" based on a story by the well-known Jewish writer and playwright Sholem Aleichem, whose work is characterized by lyricism, gentle humor, precision, psychological and domestic details. The plot of the novel on which the play is staged, opened "Theatre.UZ/2010", and it has parallels with Gogol`s "Overcoat" - the genius of Gogol that Sholem Aleichem had admired from a young age. The hero of the "The Enchanted Tailor" - a cheerful small-town tailor-Shimen Ele conceived a daring idea to get a goat, and like the hero of Gogol`s Akaki Akakiyevich Bashmachnikov was punished for it. Tashkent audience welcomed the play very warmly; it was easy and dynamic and the plot is close to everyone.

The theatre is rightly called the liveliest form of art. The atmosphere of the temple of Melpomene is imbued with emotions and live dialogues. And now, thanks to the organization of the Festival viewers in Tashkent will be able to get a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the cultural and creative potential of theaters in other countries. Convergence of the different cultures raises the level of theatrical life in Uzbekistan to the next stage and broadens the scope of creative possibilities for both actors and the audience.