The creative team of the Turkmen State Puppet Theater, led by director Mekan Jumabayev, is working on the production of a new intriguing play in verse, “Mährem ene” (“Kind Mother”), based on the play of the same name by playwright Ayna Atayeva.

This fairy tale has an unexpected plot: Dev’s wife died, leaving behind a baby boy named Devchik. Dev brought him to a village to a woman raising three sons and asked her to care for him as her own child until he came of age. The upbringing by the kind mother overcame the nature of evil. Devchik grew up big and strong like his father, but very kind like his brothers. How Dev-father reacted to this would be revealed by watching the play to the end.

The main characters of this amazing fairy tale are actors Oguldondi Byashimova (the mother), Honored Artist of Turkmenistan Annachary Kakabayev (Dev), and Sokhbet Pashagulyev (Devchik). The sons are glove puppets, performed by Gulnar Orazgeldiyeva, Shirin Atayeva, and Ogulay Akmamedova. The set design was handled with great flair by stage artist Didar Allakov. The yurt where the woman lived transformed during the performance into a carousel, where the sons joyfully spent time with Devchik, who became like one of the brothers. For creating Dev’s cave, he used a shadow effect. At the same time, director Urmatkan Melyaeva is preparing an experimental play, “Romeo and Juliet”, based on William Shakespeare. The translator and adapter is Annaly Berdiyev. The performance involves both actors and rod puppets.