BACK TO FORMER GLORY

Azerbaijan recently celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Azerbaijani professional national theatre. Pursuant to the March 1, 2013 order of President Ilham Aliyev, the National Theatre Day is celebrated on March 10 in Azerbaijan. It was on this day back in 1873 that Mirza Fatali Akhundov's comedy The Adventures of the Vizier of the Lankaran Khanate was staged in Baku. It was this first amateur production staged by the students of a real school at the initiative of Hasan-bey Zardabi and Najaf-bey Vezirov that laid the foundation of national theatre in Azerbaijan.

From a popular theatre to professional one

Socio-political and socio-economic events taking place in Azerbaijan in the second half of the 19th century triggered the development of the enlightenment movement in the country. The oil boom, which started in the vicinity of Baku in the 1860s, turned Azerbaijan into the most highly developed industrial region in the South Caucasus. New realities changed Azerbaijan's literary and cultural life, boosting the development of almost all fields of art. Local patrons contributed to this process by spending a portion of their petrodollars on literature, culture and art. This period was significant also for the theatrical art of Azerbaijan, largely known for the efforts of the great thinker, founder of Azerbaijani dramaturgy Mirza Fatali Akhundov. Thanks to his famous plays, Azerbaijan's popular theatre transformed into a professional one. Although Akhundov was the first Azerbaijani playwright, his works were comparable to the internationally acclaimed classical plays, but full of local ingredients, humour and painful problems of the time. Akhundov believed that one of the most important indicators of being a civilised and modern nation was ensuring the freedoms of speech and expression.

It did not take long until the residents of Baku could enjoy the performances of eminent playwrights. Apart from Baku, theatres opened in the provinces of Azerbaijan. The theatrical movement slowly but irrevocably spread to the regions of Azerbaijan. Plays written specifically for the stage by Mirza Fatali Akhundov increased the interest for theatrical art in Azerbaijan. First bold steps have already been taken in pioneering theatrical plays in Shusha, Baku and other cities of the country. The enlightened people of Sheki realised that there was a popular demand for the theatre. In 1879, prominent illuminator, writer and dramatist Rashid-bey Efendiyev and a group of amateurs set a stage in a warehouse for silk cocoons to stage M. F. Akhundov's comedy Haji Gara. The success of the endeavour was later confirmed by the playwright in written.

In 1880-1908, plays Monsieur Jordan and Dervish Mastalishah by M. F. Akhundov, Haji Gambar by N. Vezirov, Destroyed Tifag and Friends of People by Abdulrahim-bey Hagverdiyev, Nadir Shah by N. Narimanov, Bloodmate by R. Afandiyev and others were performed on the stage of the Sheki Theatre.

Nakhchivan

Shortly after, on May 15, 1883, Mirza Fatali Akhundov's immortal comedy Monsieur Jordan and Dervish Mastalishah was performed in Nakhchivan, in the mansion of Haji Najaf Zeynalov, one of the local intellectuals. This day was a starting point of the history of theatre in Nakhchivan. It was followed by the productions of Mirza Fatali Akhundov's The Vizier of the Lankaran Khanate, Haji Gara, The Bear That Defeated the Robber, Husein Javid, Jafar Jabbarli and Jalil Mammadguluzade.

Iravan

The Iravan State Azerbaijani Drama Theatre had a glorious but sad fate. Founded in the city of Iravan in 1928, the theatre was the first theatre of another nation in Armenia. Later the theatre located on N. Zarian Street was named after Jafar Jabbarli, the founder of Azerbaijani Soviet drama. Prominent figures of this theatre were Yunus Suleymanov, Daghistanli, Ali Zeynalov, Bakhshi Galandarli, Ali Shahsabahli and others. In 1988, the theatre was closed following the mass expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia during the Karabakh conflict.

Aghdam

The fate of the Abdulrahim-bey Hagverdiyev Aghdam State Drama Theatre was even more tragic. The first production was staged there back in 1902 thanks to the efforts of prominent theatrical and public figure Abdulrahim-bey Hagverdiyev. Indeed, the Aghdam Drama Theatre was the cradle of culture in Garabagh. After Azerbaijan's brilliant victory in the Second Garabagh War, which showed the world the horrific scenes of destruction in the once flourishing lands of Garabagh, the Aghdam Drama Theatre was also on the list of destroyed buildings of the region.

Khankendi

Already in the 1930s many Azerbaijani theatres ran studios for teaching acting, stage pronunciation, dance and other disciplines. Not all teachers in those studios were practising. In 1933, such studios were opened at the Baku Theatre School, marking the beginning of a new era in this field.

The Khankendi State Drama Theatre was opened almost at the same time, in 1932, and named after Maxim Gorky, the Russian and Soviet writer, founder of socialist realism. On August 2, 2001, the theatre was included in the list of immovable monuments of Azerbaijan's history and culture. After the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh by the Armenian army as a result of the First Garabagh War (1991-1994), Armenian invaders falsified the history of the origin of this theatre and renamed it after the Soviet Armenian actor Vahram Papazian.

Shusha and Fuzuli

The revival of cultural and especially theatrical life in Shusha dates back as early as 1848, when the town witnessed various theatrical and circus performances. This is also confirmed in historical documents. The contribution of Abdulrahim-bey Hagverdiyev to creating a theatre in Shusha is invaluable. Another theatrical company was assembled in Fuzuli. In the beginning of 1943, the State Music Drama Theatre was created in Shusha. It was a significant event in the cultural life of the town. Azizagha Mammadov was appointed the artistic director of the theatre. Despite the difficulties, from the very first day the company tried to combine the staging of both modern and classical performances. The same year the theatre's actors Azizagha Mammadov and Jalil Baghdadbeyov were awarded the title of Honoured Artist of Azerbaijan. After a while the Shusha State Musical Drama Theatre was named after Uzeyir-bey Hajibeyov. But only for a short period of time. A year after Hajibeyov's death the Shusha theatre was closed pursuant to the decree of the USSR Council of Ministers dated 6 February 1949 due to an economic crisis.

Instead of a theatre, the residents of the town set up a drama club. In the 1950s, the repertoire of the club included plays of various genres. Since 1987, the drama club was renamed to the Shusha People's Theatre. On May 25, 1990, 43 years after Hajibeyov's death, the Ministry of Culture decreed the establishment of the Shusha State Musical-Drama Theatre.

Ganja

On January 13, 1921, the first Workers' and Peasants' Theatre was founded in Baku. In December, 1932 it moved to Ganja together with its company and was renamed to the Ganja Drama Theatre (the Jafar Jabbarli Kirovabad Azerbaijan State Drama Theatre in 1935-1990). The old building, which survived until recently, was built in 1886 by German entrepreneur Christopher Forer.

Lankaran

The Najaf-bey Vazirov Lankaran State Drama Theatre is comparatively young—it was established in 1973, with Mirza Ibrahimov's play The Good Man being the first production staged in the theatre. The repertoire includes works by Azerbaijani and foreign playwrights, including Vagif by Samed Vurghun, The Vizier of Lankaran Khanate by M. Akhundov, The Winter Tale by Shakespeare, The Storm by A. Ostrovski and so on.

Other theatres operating in Azerbaijan include the Mingachevir State Drama Theatre, the Gakh State Georgian Drama Theatre and Puppet Theatre, the Gusar State Lezgin Drama Theatre, the Gazakh Drama Theatre and the Salyan Puppet Theatre.

Nothing to display

Despite their long history, all regional theatres in Azerbaijan have had their ups and downs over the years. For instance, back in the Soviet period, Sophocles' play Elektra directed by Vagif Asadov, People's Artist of Azerbaijan, was staged in Tbilisi and Yerevan and awarded major prizes at the All-Union Theatre Festival. Recently, however, regional theatres in Azerbaijan cannot display much of accomplishments for objective and subjective reasons. Having been at the state of war for almost thirty years, the state had supported both the theatrical companies of Baku and districts, but the latter interpreted the state care differently.

For example, founded in 1968, the Mingachevir State Drama Theatre initially staged the production of the play Almaz by Jafar Jabbarli. Later, the theatre has staged around 300 productions of Azerbaijani and foreign playwrights. In addition to performances in most towns and districts of the country, the theatre has toured Türkiye, Georgia and Russia and taken part in various festivals. The last news about the theatre was the reports about the dismissal of its management for reasons that had nothing to do with the theatrical art. Thus, the theatre management presented a repertoire to the Ministry of Culture, but not a single play from this list was staged. The theatre had since staged New Year's performances for children and other commercial amateur performances.

Ministry of Culture to introduce a new model

Regarding the current situation of regional theatres and the immediate plans of the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan, it was reported that a special working group consisting of theatre experts has been set up. They will analyse the repertoires, personnel potential, general technical equipment and management structure of theatres. As a result of this analytical work, the working group will present a new model to eliminate the existing problems and shortcomings. By the way, identifying these problems was one of the goals of the theatre forum organised by the ministry in March 2023.

The Ministry of Culture points out that while in Baku the situation with theatres is almost satisfactory, with a public demand for theatrical productions, periodically updated repertoire and staged premieres, situation in districts is different. The most serious problem, according to the Ministry, is the training and selecting of professionals. Therefore, the ministry has initiated close cooperation with the Azerbaijan University of Culture and Arts. It is planned to involve talented young people in regional theatres and to provide them with working conditions in them.

It is also necessary to introduce a new approach to the management of regional theatres, taking into account the experience of 2022, its positive and negative aspects, to ensure efficiency in the new management model. In this context, it will be interesting to consider the experience of foreign countries in this area.

According to the ministry, once the analysis of current situation is completed, a special state programme will be developed to ensure the renewal of financial mechanisms, including the self-financing of theatres. For instance, one of the considerations is the introduction of public-private partnership. It is also necessary to ensure the restoration and reconstruction of theatrical buildings. By the way, the ministry noted that in Sumgayit, Ganja and other districts the state of theatrical buildings is quite satisfactory.

Let's hope that the new state programme will actually help district theatres with long and rich history to regain their former popularity among local audiences. It is nice to see some of them undergoing personnel reforms that will transform theatrical life even beyond Baku.