ILKHOM THEATER: THE ABSOLUTE TOP OF CENTRAL ASIA IN THE CORRIDOR OF CULTURAL EXCHANGE

Can a theater, which has never belonged to mass art, somehow influence the outside world and bring people together in it? Does the country need its own international theater festival? Will the theater, which has already become part of the country’s history, receive the right to remain within its native walls?
Questions that remain unanswered and continue to cause judgments, reviews, remarks in social media. From the very day in early February, when clouds were gathering over the Ilkhom Theater, caused by progressive commodity-market relations, it became clear that dispersing these clouds only with the hands of people, who are not indisputable in estimates, but always indifferent to the fate of the beloved theater, will not be easy. (more…)


ABOUT THE PHENOMENON OF “ILKHOM” AND ITS TOPICAL ART.

MARCH 5, 2020 CAA NETWORK
Perhaps the most significant event in the beginning of this year in the theatrical life of the Uzbekistan’s capital city was the appeal of the Ilkhom Theater to the general public published on February 12, 2020. The famous theater, founded back in 1976, could survive even after the brutal murder of Mark Wail, the founder of the theater– the famous director in the post-Soviet era.
But today the fate of the theater depends on the decision of the authorities and the new owner of the building where the Ilkhom Theater rents premises. As stated in the appeal of the theater staff, they don’t have the means and opportunities to acquire a new building and recreate the theater in it again, and the loss of their space actually means a death sentence to the Ilkhom Theater.

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Uzbekistan’s liberal Ilkhom Theatre survived decades of dictatorship. Now real estate developers could spell its downfall

The Ilkhom Theatre was an oasis of unbridled creativity in Uzbekistan under decades of totalitarian censorship. Now, a rapid wave of development designed to liberalise and modernise the nation could spell its demise.
17 February 2020
Text: Sarah Heywood-Rakhimova
Images: Courtesy of Ilkhom Theatre

To enter the Ilkhom playhouse, visitors must descend a narrow corridor lined with four heavily-inscribed marble pillars. A mingling of dust and cigarette smoke hangs in the air: the atmosphere is dense, alive with posters and props from more than four decades worth of performances lining the well-trodden path. (more…)


SOVIET MODERNISM AND THE ILHOM THEATER AS A CULTURAL HERITAGE SITE

The Ilkhom Theater, which has not yet been included in the protection list of the Ministry of Culture, has long been a double monument of cultural heritage: tangible and intangible.
It is a monument of tangible cultural heritage, because the building where Mark Wail equipped the theater was built by Richard Bleze, one of the main architects of Soviet modernism, and has all the hallmarks of an outstanding architectural monument of the 1960s (the time the design began) and the 1970s.
Only two relatively preserved buildings by Bleze remained in Tashkent, and therefore the building of the Youth House, included in the ensemble of the city center and linked to the Panoramic Cinema (Palace of Arts), must be preserved in its original form. No 4-to-5-story add-ons above an existing two-story block are acceptable. (more…)


FIRST INDEPENDENT UZBEK THEATER “ILHOM” FACES EVICTION

MOSCOW, Feb 18 — RIA Novosti (RIA News). One of the first independent theaters in the USSR – Ilkhom in Tashkent is under threat of eviction at the initiative of the new owner of the premises, according to the theater’s website.
The new owner of OFELOS PLAZA LLC sent a letter to the Ilkhom administration asking them to free the building, the basement of which the theater has been using since 1976.
Upon the receipt of letter, the theater hosted a press conference where representatives of the new owner announced that the building would be closed for reconstruction for two years. (more…)


LIFE LONGER THAN HOPE BUT SHORTER THAN LOVE

… There are no turbulent years yet,
cautious expressions …
God of trouble
on thin legs
Wanders alone aside. (more…)


THE GUEST PERFORMANCE OF THE ILKHOM THEATER ON THE SCENE OF THE CENTER FOR DRAMA AND DIRECTING (CDD). BECOME DEPENDENT ON AN INDEPENDENT THEATER.

For four days in early September, almost the whole theatrical Moscow managed to “check in” in the CDD – the Ilkhom Theater came on tour from Tashkent. Moscow expects and loves the unique theater created by Mark Wail. Reading the story of the foundation of Ilkhom, it’s hard to believe how in 1976 it could even appear – an independent non-state theater whose repertoire included Brecht, Vampilov, Petrushevskaya! (more…)


OPENING NIGHT IN ILKHOM “MOTHER COURAGE”

The new theater season of the Ilkhom Theater can be characterized by the slogan “Theater goers – Unite!”. The 44th theater season was opened with a tour to Moscow, where two performances were presented at once at the Center for Drama and Directing namely: “Tsvetaeva. Fedra” and “Dog’s Heart”. (more…)


REVIEW: “MOTHER COURAGE”

German poet and playwright Bertold Brecht began writing his play “Mother Courage” on the eve of World War II. He conceived it as a warning to the authorities, which was to sound from the scenes of big cities: “Whoever wants to have breakfast with the devil should stock up on a long spoon.” The playwright finished the play in the autumn of 1939, when the war had already been unleashed, and bitterly admitted defeat: “Writers cannot write as fast as the governments unleash wars: after all, to compose, you have to think …“Mother Courage” is late”. How wrong he was! (more…)


ART WITH NO BOUNDARIES!

Not so long ago, foreign media (including French, Korean, Danish and Portuguese) published an article “Underground”, where they talked about our theater, its history and formation.

The authors of the articles – Matteo Fagotto – Journalist & Writer and Matilda Gattoni (https://www.facebook.com/mazlorgattoni) spent two weeks in Ilkhom, during which they did a lot of work – interviews with theater actors, staff, management, Artistic managing director.

We really appreciate this attention!

Read about us on the links below and share your impressions.

Téléramá
Foreign Policy


MARK WAIL’S TASHKENT “ILKHOM” THEATER HAS RETURNED HOME AFTER SUCCESSFUL SEPTEMBER TOURS IN MOSCOW.

During four days the Center for Drama and Directing (CDD) at the Sokol had full halls. Tickets for the Ilkhom performances were sold out several months before the theater arrived. In anticipation of the tour, social media was filled with comments asking for an “extra ticket.”
In Moscow, Ilkhom showed two of its best-in-class performances namely: “Tsvetaeva. Fedra” by Vladimir Pankov and “Dog Heart” by Artem Kim. (more…)


(Русский) «Кабаре X studio»

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