Bishkek holds theatre festival

Bishkek is hosting the Aralash International Theatre Festival April 22-26, with over 10 performances by Indian and Central Asian theatre groups.

“Our festival is about forming a common cultural space (made up) of actors, musicians and artists from different countries,” festival co-ordinator Galina Ketova said. “On the one hand, such co-operation will enrich the modern cultures of all the countries in the region, and on the other hand, joint efforts will properly represent the culture of the region at the global level.”

Parliamentary elections and an unstable political situation forced the festival’s postponement from autumn, Vladimir Trofimov, the spokesman for the Chingiz Aitmatov Russian Drama Theatre, which hosts experimental performances, said.

Admission to all performances is free.

“This is a unique theatre festival, which fuses traditional and experimental theatre as well as folk and ethnic culture,” said festival art director and Turkmen director Ovlyakuli Hojakuli. "We selected 10 performances from throughout the region. We are very pleased that the Daidor troupe from Osh, whose only pay is its enthusiasm, will participate in the festival. They will perform an experimental piece ‘Adam’, based on biblical motifs.”

An Indian company will present “History Through Sounds,” playing on ancient musical instruments such as the sarod, didgeridoo and tabla.

“We understand that now, in the age of the Internet, ethnic music is not always clear and accessible, particularly when it comes to older music,” troupe director Suchet Malhotra said. “Therefore, along with the traditional music, we often experiment with our performances so that (they are) interesting to the audience.”

The Tajik group Shams will perform the original musical production “Fleetingness of the World.”
“This is a harmonious blend of Pamir motifs and ... unique Sufi dance,” said group art director Ikbol Zavkibekov. “They are going to do this (accompanied by) modern ethnic jazz improvisations on folk instruments. They will wind up with Sufi songs to the poems of Rumi, Nosir Hizrav and Omar Khayyám.”

The Uzbek participants performed an unexpected interpretation of the Greek myth of Oedipus, accompanied by the rock band Slyozy Solntsa (Tears of the Sun). The protagonists’ lively voices were heard in Kyrgyz, Russian and Turkmen.

“There is no need to fear experimentation,” Hojakuli said. “You just need to listen and watch. We believe that this unique theatre festival will become a yearly event and that it will influence the development of our theatre companies, which ... are open to new ideas without losing their individuality.”

“It was interesting ... to see the cultures of countries so close to ours,” said audience member Hakim Tursunov.