This year is marked by the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Russian playwright Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky, whose work is directly related to the theater stage.
On the occasion of a significant date, the creative team of the Ashgabat theater "ArtEast" presented to the public the first night of the performance "Profitable Place" based on the play of the same name by Ostrovsky.
In his interpretation of the comedy, written more than a century ago, director Mekan Jumabayev experimented not only with the classical text, but also with set design, transferring the heroes of the play to the times of modern society. Dressed in business suits, officials literally live in their office chairs, and spend their free time in nightclubs.
The main events of the story are held around a young and principled man Zhadov (Vasily Andronov) serving under his uncle, a wealthy official Vyshnevsky (Igor Annaklychev).
Zhadov refuses to follow the example of colleagues who are mired in greed, bribery and viciousness. He wants to earn a living by honest work, to marry his beloved, although stupid girl, Polina (Nina Supanko). In this seemingly simple philosophy, the hero actually appears as a “black sheep”, going against his social circle.
“While working on this performance during the pandemic, I decided to bring to the action of Ostrovsky’s plays familiar details for any modern person,” says the director of the play, Mekan Jumabayev. – These are both protective medical masks and gadgets that have played a role in the social distancing of people. In general, the performance is built not on classical theatrical techniques, but on recognizing current realities so that the dramaturgy of the play touches the hearts of our contemporaries. After all, the theater is a living organism, and it must always keep up with the times.
A new production of “ArtEast” theater will be presented at the XXV International Theater Festival of the CIS countries "Meetings in Russia", which will be held in St. Petersburg from April 7 to 16.
In addition to Turkmenistan, theater groups from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Abkhazia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Russia will perform at the St. Petersburg site of the “Baltic House” Theater-Festival.
