In Ashgabat, the Children's inclusive theatre group presented the premiere of the play «Emerald city» at the State Russian drama theatre named after A.S. Pushkin, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
This fairy tale has an interesting history. Back in 1939, writer and translator Alexander Volkov based his tale «The Wonderful wizard of Oz» by American author L. Frank Baum on the story and wrote his own tale, «The wizard of the Emerald city».
The fairy tale tells how a powerful hurricane sends Ella and her dog, «Toto», to the magical Emerald City. The city was ruled by two good and two evil sorceresses. But the final decision on all matters rested with the wizard Goodwin. In this city, Ella met the Scarecrow, a garden scarecrow who desperately longed to be smart; the Tin Woodman, who suffered because he had no heart; and the cowardly Lion, who dreamed of courage.
The friends set out to find Goodwin, but they had to overcome obstacles set by evil sorceresses. You can find out how this story ends by watching the play.
Before staging this production, Tatyana Ovezmyradova, director of the Children's inclusive theatre group and stage director, suggested that the children watch several plays and choose their favourite.
–I was very pleased that the children chose this particular play, – says Tatyana Gennadyevna», because characters of the fairy tale asked Goodwin not for material goods, but for intelligence, heart, and courage. In the fairy tale, there are two good sorceresses and two evil ones. It is just like in life, which consists not only of positive moments but also negative ones. Learning to not give in to difficulties and to solve problems as they arise – that is what the story of Ellie and her friends teaches us.
The performance featured 35 children, the entire inclusive group, with over 20 children serving as extras. On a professional stage, in front of a large audience, the characters from «Emerald city» felt like real actors. The audience applauded the creative spirit of young performers. The success would not have been possible without the active participation of co-director Ayna Jumayeva, choreographer Tatyana Udovichenko, and musical director Sona Ovezmyradova.
It is worth noting that at the end, the director personally called each cast member to take a bow and presented them with a well-deserved chocolate bar. At the same time, Tatyana Gennadyevna announced the cast members for the other leading roles in the production of «Emerald city», which will take place at the Pushkin theatre on the 29th of June.
