At the theater festival dedicated to the National Day of the Turkmen Horse, the creative team of the A.S.Pushkin State Russian Drama Theatre presented the play “Racing the Wind”.
The playwright, Vladislav Davydov, approached the writing of this drama with remarkable sensitivity and a deep understanding of the Turkmen mentality.Nearly every word spoken by the main character, Seyis-aga, carries the weight of a timeless aphorism.
Seyis-aga owned a magnificent horse named Kuvvatly, unrivaled in both beauty and speed.The horse caught the attention of an Englishman who, regardless of the circumstances, was determined to buy him.
Helping Sir John pursue this dream was the interpreter, Yelken, who was in love with an Englishwoman.Yelken offered a substantial sum of money for the horse, but Seyis-aga firmly rejected the offer.
One day, Seyis-aga’s neighbor came to him, pleading with him to give the horse to the Englishman in exchange for her son, who had been taken captive. “You are asking the impossible of me.
Would you give up your own son in exchange for another?My horse is my honor.” “Every time you look at your horse, you will hear the cries of my boy,” the neighbor said as she left empty-handed, cursing him.
The first act of the play ends with a deeply dramatic scene.Yelken decides to steal the horse, but Seyis-aga catches him in the act.A struggle ensues, during which the old man is killed.
Witnessing this, the horse attacks Yelken and begins trampling him under his hooves.One might think the story could end there.But the play continues, and audiences can discover the rest by watching this gripping and morally profound production.
The cast delivered outstanding performances.Kerim Atayev played Seyis-aga, Igor Abdrimov portrayed Yelken, and Honored Artist of Turkmenistan Svetlana Troitskaya took on the role of the neighbor.
Maria Durdyyeva played Seyis-aga’s daughter, while Svyatoslav Lavin and Aylara Bayramova portrayed the English couple.The audience responded to the performance with great emotion.An especially charming detail was that, during the curtain call, the very first to appear on stage was Kuvvatly himself.
And rightly so—for alongside Seyis-aga, he is truly one of the play’s central characters.Director Bayram Garajayev, speaking about the production, noted: “The play inspired the actors so deeply that everyone performed their roles flawlessly.
The only real challenge was the horse.Creating a prop horse that looked as realistic as possible was no easy task.We hope that, thanks to its strong moral message, “Racing the Wind” will remain a box-office success at our theater for many years to come.”