William Shakespeare’s famous quote: “For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo” may well be argued.There is a story, to be more precise, a destan entitled Leyli and Mejnun’.
Romeo and Juliet killed themselves because they could not live without each other.But Leyli and Mejnun lived apart for quite long, going thorough intense agony and terrible ordeals, proving their love and devotion every single day.
The word mejnun’ translates as mad with love’ from the Turkmen language. This exactly describes the young man’s pain and suffering because he could not be together with his one true love...
The tragedy Leyli and Majnun’, based on the namesake destan, has been premiered at the Mollanepes Student Theater, adapted by People’s Writer of Turkmenistan Govshutgeldy Danatarov.
Director Urmatkan Melyaeva’s original and expressive interpretation of the tragic love story is enhanced by richly varied music by People’s Artist of Turkmenistan Rejep Rejepov. The characters’ exquisitely flowing medieval-period outfits echoed the dynamics of the drama, effectively accentuating every gesture, glance, movement of their heads, and dialogue of feelings in their eyes...
Designed by Merited Cultural Worker of Turkmenistan Durdy Ovezdurdyev and Murat Batyrov, the arthouse stage sets added a touch of novelty and modernity to the canonical story.
Intricately designed installations of satin ropes conjured up a fairytale town, surrounded by sandy desert expanses. Contrasting colors and lighting effects highlighted deeply expressive phrases.
Meet the cast of this brilliant production, whose dazzling performance helped to bring the director’s vision to life: Chary Amandurdyev (Mejnun), Sheyda Kurbanova (Leyli), Leyla Rustemova (Mejnun’s mother), Gulnur Khojamukhamdedova (Leyli’s mother), and others.
The Student Theater’s original adaption of the world-renowned destan has received an enthusiastic welcome from the audience.