“White Steamboat” on the theatre stage of Ashgabat: soulfully about the trivial and eternal
The Alp Arslan National Drama Theater is traditionally at the forefront of Turkmen stage art. Recently, its repertoire was replenisheded with an amazing production “White Steamboat” based on the novel of the same name by Kyrgyz classic Chingiz Aitmatov.
A touching story about the big world of a small man staged by director-producer Handurdy Berdiyev and young theater performers captures the audience from its first seconds. The play shows the routine of a village, many of which are scattered across the Central Asian steppes and foothills, recognizable characters, an ordinary story.
The story of a seven-year-old child, left to his own devices, resonates. Like the story of his grandfather, the huntsman’s helper, who keeps in his memory thousands of tales and legends about his native land, not needed in the enlightened age of machines, factories and capital. Like the story of the boy’s aunt Bekey, suffering from infertility and dislike, and her embittered husband, huntsman Orazkul, drowning the dream of a family and children in alcohol.
But why does the heart ache so much? Is it because the orphan who believes in miracles is opposed to adults who have forgotten how to distinguish between good and evil, or even learned to change these concepts in their own interests?
Is it because the boy’s simple desires: to find a family, keep friends, and just live, are thrown by adults on the scales and found to be not important enough? But they all dream of the same...
And, although the roles are clearly defined in the story, the actors convey the main idea: we are all the protagonists of our own stories. We all live our stories as we can. But the main thing is to understand that there are hundreds of other people next to us, whose stories influenced by us are different from our own. And it also depends on us whether those close by write a fairy tale with a happy ending.
After all, misfortune is like pestilence. And it’s so simple to save a person by giving him at least a mite of love...
The unique for the Turkmen stage production is an artistic experiment recognized as successful by both spectators and experts. Outstanding performers, uncluding Honored Artist of Turkmenistan Akmurat Archikov, Dovran Hojageldiyev, Gerek Hojamammedova and, of course, young talent Salyh Berdiyev, showed a real revelation on the stage, personifying the lines by Chingiz Aitmatov.
Probably, the stories told by children living in prominent authors touch that very string of memory in us, reminding us that when you grow older, you should not lose your sincerity, the ability to simply devotedly love, empathize and believe.
Altyn ASHIROVA
