"A Poem on Destiny" : Best Play Award for the closing performance of the Fourth Theatre Festival of TURKSOY
Performed at the closing ceremony of the Fourth International Theatre Festival of TURKSOY held in the city of Andijan, Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz production “A Poem on Destiny” (If You Were to Come and Go to Osh) was awarded the “Grand Prix” (Best Play) which is the highest honour of the festival.
Produced by the National Drama Theatre of Osh named after Sultan Ibraimov, the play written by the Kyrgyz People’s Author Arslan Kapay Uulu Koyçiyev was directed by Kyrgyz People’s Artist Ulanmırza Karıpbayev.
The two-hour drama gives the audience an insight into the harsh rural life of Kyrgyz villages in the 1940s: a tragic human life, shaped against the backdrop of political oppression, environmental issues and the devastating effects of the Second World War. The plot of the play recounts the stroy of Mukay, who is taken prisoner by the Germans during the war and is forced to live in foreign lands for the rest of his life.
Unjustly branded a ‘traitor’ in his own homeland, and always viewed as a ‘foreigner’ in the lands where he sought refuge, Mukay is sustained by a single truth: the pure love he left behind in a distant Kyrgyz village—a love that neither time nor distance could erase. The storms raging within a person’s inner world in the face of the war’s ruthlessness, the longing for one’s homeland and the sense of being unable to reunite are conveyed to the audience in a very simple, yet powerful manner.
Busy agenda for the jury’s deliberations
While members of the jury engaged in a lengthy discussion to evaluate the performances held at the festival, Ulanmırza Karıpbayev, emerged as the strongest contender for the ‘Best Director’ award thanks to his highly successful direction of the large cast on stage and his flawless conveyance of the work’s emotional core to the audience.
Following hours of deliberation by the jury, it was decided that, thanks to Karypbayev’s outstanding achievement, the production had reached the absolute pinnacle of the festival, and the production was deemed worthy of the festival’s highest honour, the “Grand Prix” (Best Play) award. The highly contested “Best Director” award, meanwhile, was presented to Nurkanat Jakıpbay of the Astana Jastar Theatre for her work on the play *Jibek*.
Masters of theater on stage
The stage design of the play, which captivated audiences with its visual and auditory richness, was created by Sadyr Niyazakunov, holder of the title ‘Best Theatre Designer of the Turkic World’, whilst the choreography was by Rezeda Gayanova from St. Petersburg.
The cast, featuring a wide range of accomplished actors was composed of Ilgiz Orozobek uulu as the young Mukay and Talant Apıev, a People’s Artist of Kyrgyzstan, as the elderly Mukay and Begayım Asanakunova as Jamal, whilst Ayperi Kulbaeva, a Meritorious Artist of Kyrgyzstan, took the scene as Kayberen.
Directed by Kerimbek Kalykulov, this emotional performance by the National Drama Theatre of Osh named after Sultan Ibraimov held at the closing event of the festival received standing ovations from the audience in Andijan.
Medya Galerisi
(16)
