TIME TO FALL IN LOVE WITH THE THEATRE

It's bright, though black and white. Young director Mikayil Mikayilov's production of "The Poor Son of a Millionaire" is a new departure for Azerbaijani theatre. The production has just been premiered at the Azerbaijani Musical Comedy Theatre and its set and costumes keep to black and white. Perhaps this is a reference to the fleeting changeability of human life and to the fact that Azerbaijani theatre is clearly facing great change after a dark period. The theatre has young performers who can rise a little above this world in order to perceive it. Everything can be seen better from above.

For the audience

It's brave for today. The play by Suleyman Alaskarov and Sixali Qurbanov, which formed the basis of the production, was written in the Soviet era, but the director skilfully adapted it to our times. Mikayil Mikayilov's vision encompasses human life in all its variety and beauty: fear, love, good and evil, human vices and mysticism - the invisible hand that directs everything. Theatre of the Absurd is a genre to which everything is subject, and it wasn't clear how the Azerbaijani audience, in whom good taste is not engrained, would react to this. But shouts of "Bravo!" could be heard amidst the roar of applause when the final curtain fell. This was an experiment called "getting out of the straitjacket and looking at the world". This is what theatre-goers need.

However, this is not new for Mikayil Mikayilov. He is one of the few contemporary directors today who can create "watchable" productions, unburdened with excessive direction. It is even more interesting that the production was staged at the Musical Comedy Theatre and the arias, composed by the theatre's musical director, Nazim Hacialibeyov, and sung by the excellent actors, seemed even more absurd for a black and white production. The music did not just live its own life, but was an invisible addition of colour to the brightness.

Now that Azerbaijani theatre is beginning to emerge from crisis, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism should be thanked for the idea of bringing in fresh blood and paving the way for young performers. There was a young performers' festival in March in Azerbaijan. What is this if not a search for talent? Mikayil Mikayilov's "The Poor Son of a Millionaire" was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture as part of its programme to support young theatre performers and the ministry thought the commission was performed excellently. Let's hope that this is just the beginning.

Breathing life into Azerbaijani theatre

The revival theory of Azerbaijani theatre, as interpreted by Yug theatre director and actor, Mikayil Mikayilov, does not appear complicated. Balancing between classicism and modernity, the director intends to create productions which have something for everyone and in which everyone can draw their own conclusions. Rather than force his world view on anyone, it is better to give people the opportunity to take part. Mikayil Mikayilov told Region Plus that a great deal depends on how seriously the directors themselves take the theatre audience.

"A great deal depends on us. If we are going to offer second-class productions, then there is no point blaming the audience's primitive understanding. We are offering the viewer something that he will get used to. Of course, there is an opinion that we need to adapt to current tastes, but I think that this is wrong. There are theatres that are led by the nose by the audience and that assume that the audience is stupid and uneducated, so the productions have different requirements. I think such an attitude towards those who, basically, must judge our creative work is a crime."

It cannot be said that Mikayil Mikayilov's creative outlook today is deeply focussed on the European avant-garde, but he thinks that stereotypes must be broken some day. Our national theatre, its actors and directors, can and must get used to innovation. Of course, there is not enough experience yet. But only experimenters are not afraid to look stupid and funny to society. People do not live with their eyes closed. In the century of information technology, the Internet, cable TV, when space is taken up with the instant, the viewer begins to feel a real difference between the primitivism shown on the Azerbaijani stage and what is presented for the judgement of European theatre-goers and even of our close neighbours, for example the Turkish theatre audience. And this is despite Azerbaijan's rich cultural heritage.

"Turkey has already adopted the best from us and we are left with scarcity and a poor material base, no modern equipment, lighting or sets," Mikayilov said. "There is no literature in Azerbaijani. For example, the Musical Comedy Theatre does not have any Austrian operettas in Azerbaijani. It is easier for me as I know Russian. The Internet and literature in Russian help. There are books that Azerbaijan does not have but Georgia does. And what about the next generation? This system will clearly develop gradually. So we need to make every effort to educate the Azerbaijani audience to move beyond their usual perception of the theatre."

The director is convinced that today's audience is ready for a new style. And this is not musical comedy. Europe has contemporary musicals, a kind of theatrical post-modernism that uses the latest technology and special effects. Of course, Azerbaijani stages do not have the scope to allow full experimentation. It is good that many of Azerbaijan's theatres are being renovated now, but this will take at least four years. But perhaps when this is finished, theatre actors and directors will begin to make use of scientific and technological progress and the audience won't have to do anything but enjoy it.

Who judges?

The March young directors' festival, which showcased the work of 14 directors, showed that our country has young professionals capable of rousing Azerbaijani direction from its hibernation. A new wave is rising, focussed on post-modernism, and these trends will of course produce positive results. But healthy, professional criticism is needed to allow directors to stand back and take a detached view of their work. But we don't have any yet in our country, the director said. Many judge on the principle of "do I like it or not", but have difficulty giving a basis for their judgment. Young performers are assessed by their teachers and directors. For example, Yug theatre producer and director Vaqif Ibrahimoglu, who trained seven of the 14 directors in the festival, is often mentioned when the lack of innovators is raised. This is a good trend. But there is no Azerbaijani, no foreign, no Russian criticism. Directors and performers really feel the need for this, Mikayilov said.

"I would be happy if Azerbaijani critics reacted and gave their opinion of 'The poor son of a millionaire'," Mikayilov continued. "Yes, I've been told that it's a new genre for the Musical Comedy Theatre. It was very difficult to accept the poetry of the Theatre of the Absurd. But… The problem of post-modernism is that if a director puts on his production in the avant-garde genre, then ordinary people and even professionals perceive this as something like Malevich's Black Square. All this implies that both directors and actors should be highly educated. Of course, it is very difficult for our actors to work today in the Theatre of the Absurd. So that the audience do not have a problem understanding this production, I decided to conclude it in the aesthetics of sleep, i.e. all the unreality that was on stage disappeared after one woke up."

Yes, Mikayil Mikayilov is committed to post-modernism which perceives remarkable acting as something natural. For him the actor on stage is an ordinary person. And when he goes onto the stage he remains a person playing a role.

"The thing is that a parallel needs to be drawn between classical and post-modern theatre. Classical theatre, for example Russian theatre, uses the methods of Stanislavsky - when he is acting, the actor forgets about himself. I think that this is not right by the standards of today's theatre. Whether I turn myself into Hamlet - to be or not to be - or Othello, my figure and my intonation are present in all of this. I am an Azerbaijani, I go on stage to play the prince of Denmark - this is absurd. Why are Shakespeare's works relevant today? Because it is very difficult to understand the meaning of his works. Everyone can interpret his meaning for themselves and through their own life experience. Now, for example, many theatres are breaking the canons of classicism and turning to the avant-garde, but there are theatres that are holding onto them. But they are doing this professionally. It turns out that theatre needs classicism and post-modernism equally. There is an imbalance in our national theatre. At one time we were in an enormous pit. I find it difficult to give this period a particular name. And this period held back the development of our theatre for a long time. The collapse of the USSR must have played a significant role in this. We were subject to an ideology which was suddenly shattered, purpose and direction disappeared. Russian theatre is coming out of this situation, we are still behind but, thank God, things are improving."

The path of the producer

Azerbaijani theatre and cinema need producers. It is time to stop eyeing the state budget and state sponsorship. This will be a stimulus to create big-budget films and theatre productions. Admissions recently finished to the Azerbaijan international cinema school, which was founded by famous cinema director Rustam Ibrahimbeyov. Mikayil Mikayilov was one of the 29 people selected out of 306 applicants to the school. The director will study the complex art of producing. In September the school will begin to train future cinema critics, directors, producers and film-makers. Cinema workers invited from the USA, France, Russia and elsewhere will teach the students for two years. Students that speak a foreign language will have the opportunity to gain cinema experience abroad.

Mikayil Mikayilov thinks that the future is with private productions that will be staged if Azerbaijan has producers that know their job. The cost of a production can vary between half a million and a million dollars. In this regard the young director would prefer modern, figurative shows which are performed quite widely in Europe. This is not only mimicry, but also gesture. This is not new for Azerbaijan either. But it is a great pity that our country has hardly any theatres that specialize in the avant-garde. Only the Yug theatre is working in this area today. But that is for now.

"There is already a basis for the creation of an experimental theatre in our country. And I'll say again that our work in this respect is gaining more purpose."

The young director plans to gain work experience in Russia and Europe. "I follow almost all the trends in the development of world theatre, comparing them with Azerbaijan. In our conditions more has to be asked of the actor. I understand that there is the Azerbaijani world view and the international one. I don't think it's worth reinventing the bicycle. We must try to find something that is our own, taking as a basis the experience of European and Eastern cultures. For example, they realize in Europe today that Western constructivism has led to a kind of dead mechanization. Europeans felt the need for spiritual understanding. And, thank God, we have no shortage of this. But European thinking would be no bad thing either. So I think that if I was lucky enough to gain work experience in Europe and Russia, to learn, this would be excellent for me and for my country. I think that many young Azerbaijani directors should work towards this," Mikayil Mikayilov said.

The performer's immediate plans are to work on a film script and direction for a competition organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for the best film production. Mikayil is not saying yet exactly what the script will be and for what kind of film. But there are bound to be experiments. Fortunately, the ground on which new ideas will be grown is fertile.