HISTORY MADE INTO ART

His plays Family Court; Love, the Devil, and the Lambada; Mistresses; Oh Women, Women; Jealous Hearts; The Pains of Love; American Son-in-Law; and others have won the hearts of readers and theatre-goers for years. These works were staged at the National Academic Theatre of Drama and other theatres in Azerbaijan. But Marat Axverdiyev doesn't write only comedies. The television movies With You and Without You, Waiting For You, and Operation Zhiguli have been based on his screenplays. In the works Qarabag Sikastasi, Selflessness, and Legend of Three Seas he depicts the most important events in Azerbaijan's recent history.

- Marat muallim, you grew up in a family of artists. Your childhood years must have been very interesting.

- I was born on July 21, 1938, in Baku. My father, Xanlar Axverdiyev was a Merited Artiste of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan and a soloist of the Opera and Ballet Theatre. My mother, Cahan Afruz, was a poet and playwright. Her poetry collections Two Mothers, Lines of Love, Poems, Mountains, and Two Holidays have been translated into Russian, Spanish, and Turkmen, as well as published in India. Her works about India Big Wave on the Ganges and Tahir's Fate and others were staged at Moscow theatres in the 1970s, where they were very successful. Her works I Came to Say that I Love You and The Muse were produced in Azerbaijan and other republics of the USSR.

There were two children in the family. My brother Zaur, who is three years older than me, and I had an interesting childhood. Our parents' friends were also from the world of the arts. Poets, writers, actors, directors…they all came to visit. Of course, in a family like that it was impossible to not fall in love with literature, art, and the theatre.

- Since childhood you have been interested in painting. When choosing a profession, why did you pick architecture?

- In 1956 I graduated from School No. 74 in Baku. At the time there was no institute of painting in Azerbaijan. I would have had to go to Moscow or Leningrad to get a university education in that field. My parents told me that they wouldn't let me go, and architecture is a profession very close to painting. That's why I applied to the Azerbaijan Polytechnic Institute (now the Azerbaijan Technical University - Z.F.) I enrolled at the faculty of architecture. During my university days my love for art grew even stronger. I visited the republics of the former Soviet Union during tours as a soloist for the institute's ensemble of folk instruments and stage orchestra.

- You worked in architecture for many years…

- Yes. After finishing the institute, I worked in the construction industry for 12 years. I became a head engineer. I dedicated 35 years of my life to architecture. In those years I occupied different posts in the Administration for the Restoration of Historical and Cultural Monuments at the Ministry of Culture. While there I participated in the restoration of nearly 1,000 sites, among which were monuments related to our history and our culture, as well as the Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Rasid Behbudov Theatre of Song, museums, mosques, madrasas, palaces and turbe. 

- Could it be said that you got your literary talent from your mother?

- Yes. From very early childhood I often spent time at the Opera and Ballet Theatre, where my father worked for many years as a soloist. He performed lead roles - Shah Ismail in the opera Shah Ismail, Macnun in Leyli and Macnun, Karam in Asli and Karam, Qarib in Asig Qarib. I watched those plays. My mother wrote her poetry. That is the atmosphere my brother Zaur and I grew up in. What happened only makes sense.

- You are the author of many works, but you came to literature as a translator.

- In the 1970s I translated my mother's poetry into Russian.

- Did your mother know that you worked with literature?

- Mom always encouraged me to start writing. I wrote, but I was reluctant to tell her about it.

- Did she ever find out about it?

- No, she never did… In general my parents never forbade us from doing anything. However, thanks to them we knew the value of art from the cradle, we understood what responsibility is. That's why I was always reluctant to sing in front of my father and write in front of my mother. Their artistic demands were just as great as their love for art. 

Mother passed away in 1984, four and a half years after my father's death. I am continuing my mother's work.

- They began to stage your plays in the early 1990s, and you made a name for yourself as a playwright…

- Baba Rzayev, Merited Person of the Arts and head director of the Lankaran State Dramatic Theatre, staged two of my mother's works in his theatre. While preparation was underway for the performances, he asked me why I didn't write myself, since I understood writing so well? He insisted so strongly that I had to admit that I did some creative writing. After he suggested it, I wrote my first work - the comedy Family Court - and gave it to him. As staged by Baba Rzayev it was very successful. He told me that I had to continue. I wrote Love, the Devil, and the Lambada. Its staging was also successful and became very popular. After that many theatres established a working relationship with me. 

The director of the National Academic Theatre of Drama at the time, Hasanaga Turabov, saw the show as well. We met. He told me: "You're a talented person. Why don't you write plays?" In 1992 I wrote the play Oh Women, Women and handed it to Turabov himself. He really liked it. He got the director Marahim Farzalibayov to come over. He said: "I've already read this, you read it too." Marahim Farzalibayov staged Oh Women, Women on the stage of the drama theatre with Siyavus Aslan and Firangiz Mutallimova in the lead roles. The performance was received with interest. A year later viewers at the theatre saw my comedy Jealous Hearts, staged by the same Marahim Farzalibayov. The superb acting of Yasar Nuri and Arif Quliyev made a name for the play.

- The play made a name for itself in Turkey as well.

- Yes. The comedy was put on by the artistic collective of the Municipal Theatre of Sariyer in Istanbul. In 2000 I was invited to the premiere there. They honoured me by producing it at the Ciragan Palace, where state-level events usually take place, and it was a great success. They also asked me for something else I had written, and I passed on to them the play Oh Women, Women. Both were performed on various stages in Turkey - at the Cemberlitas Theatre and the Municipal Theatre of Sariyer in Istanbul, at the theatre of Fatih University.

- You are the author not only of dramatic works, but also of interes-ting screenplays.

- The director Lutfi Mammad-bayov filmed a TV film entitled With You and Without You based on my script. The film has been shown on state television many times. Another of my works, Waiting for You, was also filmed by Lutfi Mammadbayov.

- At the next stage of your creative work you started to write pieces that describe the socio-political life of our country. Qarabag Sikastasi, Selflessness, and Legend of Three Seas depict events from recent Azerbaijani history.

- In 1993 our country was still in a tough situation. A war was going on. When I recall that period, I can always see the image of that brilliant person who was able to consistently come out the victor in the most difficult socio-political situations. That person is the leader of our nation, Heydar Aliyev. That is why a large part of my creative output is devoted to this outstanding person and his work.

In those difficult days Heydar Aliyev came forward and called on all of us to rise to the defence of our homeland. That call really stuck with me, and I wrote my play Qarabag Sikastasi. Written in 1993, it speaks of how a great politician returned to power in Azerbaijan at a difficult time, about his historical service to save the country. Marahim Farzalibayov filmed a two-episode TV miniseries based on that script. The movie was shown on state television.

My second work about our national leader is named Selflessness. The TV movie of the same name was shot based on this script. Later I used the screenplay to write a play, which was staged at the Sumqayit State Theatre of Musical Drama, as well as at National Academic Theatre of Drama, where its premier went over very well.

- You have said that the play Legend of Three Seas, which is devoted to the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, is your greatest achievement.

- Many very important events have taken place in Azerbaijan's recent history. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline is one of the great projects which have secured Azerbaijan's position in the world. It is very important for the current and future development of our country. While working on Legend of Three Seas, I looked at various documents, official materials, and saw once more how great a politician and statesman Heydar Aliyev was. Forces coming out against the Azerbaijani state strove to disrupt the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Their treacherous plans could only be prevented by a politician as wise and decisive as Heydar Aliyev. For that reason I choose this brilliant person as my theme for a third time. 

- Why did it take so long for this play to reach the stage?

- I worked on it for a fairly long time - five whole years. The play was staged at the Ganja State Dramatic Theatre in 2013 as part of a Ministry of Culture-approved repertoire. I'm very satisfied with the acting collective of that theatre. The entire creative and technical staff, headed by the stage director, Honoured Artist of the Republic Ramiz Valiyev, worked on the performance with all their heart. However, the theatre had poor facilities, and there weren't enough personnel - the entire play could not be put on the stage. My greatest dream is staging the play Legend of Three Seas with the help of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on the stage of the National Academic Theatre of Drama or another Baku theatre with greater technical opportunities.