To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s status as a permanently neutral state, a Week of Foreign Drama is planned as a gift to lovers of stage art in the country’s theatres. At our request, Agamyrat Baltayev, Head of the Department of Theatres and Performing Arts Institutions of the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan, provided a detailed commentary on this event.
-The Week of Foreign Drama, which will be held from December 6 to 12 of this year, is a gift to the entire Turkmen people on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the country’s neutrality. All theatre companies will take part in it. The Week’s program will include 53 productions based on plays by foreign playwrights, and 13 of them are not taken from the theatres’ existing repertoires but have been staged specifically for this event and will be performed for the first time. Among them are “Är-aýal” (playwright Uzeyir Hajibeyov) at the Main Academic Drama Theatre named after Saparmyrat the Great, “Romeo we Julýetta” (William Shakespeare) at the Turkmen State Puppet Theatre, “Söýginiň” (Prosper Mérimée) at the State Drama Theatre named after Kemine of Mary velayat, and others.
Why did we decide to turn to foreign drama in celebrating neutrality? The status of neutrality guarantees Turkmenistan’s peacefulness and friendship toward all countries. Productions based on works of foreign classic literature foster tolerance toward the culture of other peoples. Both of these help strengthen friendship throughout the world. That is why the motto of the Week is: “Permanent Neutrality – the Foundation for Friendship Among Peoples.”
According to tradition, foreign guests will arrive in Turkmenistan for the state holiday to personally congratulate the Turkmen people on the anniversary of neutrality. For them, the Week will be a pleasant event, as they will have the opportunity to attend performances based on plays by American, French, Italian, Russian, Georgian, Azerbaijani, Tatar, and Kyrgyz playwrights. Work is currently underway on the simultaneous translation of the performances into English and Russian.
There is another positive aspect of holding the Week — all performances will be staged in their respective home theatres. This will make it possible for audiences from all velayats to take part in the Week.
