The 300th anniversary of Magtymguly Fragi has brought changes to the theatrical life of the capital. The theatrical season in all theaters opened with performances about Magtymguly. This reflected the solidarity of theater groups and their respectful attitude towards the great master of thought and word.
At the National Drama Theater named after Alp Arslan, the season opened with the premiere of the mono-performance "The Sage." For the first time, a one-actor play featuring Magtymguly was staged. Producing such a play was extremely risky. Magtymguly's poetry is deeply meaningful and requires a prepared audience. Not every viewer can attentively capture every word from one actor for fifty-five minutes.
However, the unusual scenography with projected light effects made the performance so spectacular that concerns disappeared on their own. The curtain rose, revealing a scene reminiscent of a fragment from a fantasy film with an endless starry sky and transparent columns connecting the sky with the Earth—a universe alone with the wise son of Earth. Magtymguly, addressing the audience, begins his poetic monologue.
The musical accompaniment of the performance complemented the scenography. Mukhammet Hydyrov used fragments from different musical styles instead of a melody that matched the content of the play. These fragments highlighted the emotional content of the performance.
-Dramaturg Gadam Kakabaev selected poems about the poet's life and worldview from Magtymguly's collected works and arranged them into a logical narrative chain, - this is how the plot for the play "The Sage" came about, - explains director Handurdy Berdyev, Honored Artist of Turkmenistan. - Our task was to reproduce these events on stage. The play was initially conceived as a monologue, as a one-actor performance. This complicated our work with Dovlet Hanmammedov, who played Magtymguly. However, the modern thinking of our talented stage designers came to our aid. These include scenographer Mekan Annamyradov, musical designer Mammet Hydyrov, and video effects designer Arslan Berdiev. I am pleased with how the play turned out.
- It is very difficult to read a poetic monologue for fifty-five minutes without a break, where every word is in its place and has its meaning,- says Dovlet Hanmammedov, People's Artist of Turkmenistan. - But I was not alone on stage; I had three partners—the stage, light and sound. During the performance, the audience applauded me during some particularly poignant phrases. I took their applause as a sign of mutual understanding between the audience and the stage. This helped me a lot.
The finale of the play was spectacular. On one side of the stage appeared the State Flag of independent Turkmenistan in a light display, and on the other, a giant monument to the great poet from the Magtymguly cultural and park complex.
The play "The Sage" was shown to Ashgabat audiences and guests of the capital for the first time. However, it has already been to a theater festival in Kazakhstan, where it was also received with great success.
