On March 27th in Azerbaijan and all over the world Theatre Day was celebrated. The professor of the State University for Culture and the Arts, the director of the Youth Theatre, Jennet Salimova, talked to VK about theatre in general, including Azeri theatre.
- How much has theatre changed since ancient times?
- Theatre is the most live kind of art. Here a human being is directly connected with another human being. If there is no live communication, there is no theatre. Theatre has been changing over the course of time, as well as theatre genres. There used to be religious and folk theatre, today performance art, happenings and psychological theatre are popular. Theatre replies to the audiences' demands.
- Can gladiator fights or Spanish bullfights be called theatre genres?
- Theatre is one kind of performance. These genres are also performance. Today they are probably called “theatre of cruelty.”
- What is the difference between a man who visits the theatre regularly and a man who has been there twice and decided that this is a waste of time?
- Theatre can be good and bad. The one who decided not to visit theatre again hasn’t been lucky, as he came to a bad performance. However, nothing can be better than a crazy consolidation of actors and audience. Today we communicate with TV-sets, computers and cell-phones, everything is artificial around us. That is why theatre is unique, as it can give you things and feelings you lack in life.
- What role does theatre play in the social establishment?
- t different times the role has been different. Theatre is an entertainment, but through it we impose on people ideas of kindness, honesty and love. The worst thing for theatre is being boring. Sometimes theatre has to express the opposite of the government views to be unbribable.
- Tell us about the history of Azerbaijani theatre.
- In 1882, Zardabi and Vezirov staged “Adventures of Vizier Hang Lenkoransky” by Mirz Fatali Akhundov. Officially on March 10th, 1882, our theatre was born. However, the date is nominal, as the theatre existed in Azerbaijan since ancient times. We can only define the date of birth of professional theatre.
- Do you notice talented young actors who can become outstanding performers of the future?
- In the past, theatre was the only kind of art, there was no television. Today we have endless series, television, DVD. A new genre is performances at weddings. This has alienated people from the theatre. Today, many small chamber theatres are appearing. I believe that the theatre has future.
To be continued…
Interview by Ramin Naziyev, Baku. Exclusively to VK.
