The play “The City Where I…” transitively moves through Pishpek-Frunze-Bishkek. Times change, people change. Some arrive, others leave. One of the first images of the city in the theatrical exploration was the train station. For various reasons, the theme of nomadism ran through the production as a common thread. The directors took the “waiting room” as a symbol, a kind of reservoir where we all await something.
“What are we waiting for?” - this question was primarily directed at the audience. The play was created in the verbatim genre (documentary theater) based on real texts from city dwellers. The creative team of the theater has always been able to surprise the audience, but this production turned out to be special and touched the hearts of every viewer. After all, the problems of the capital are not foreign to any of us.
- The “HEADQUARTERS School of Theory and Activism Bishkek” and the publication “Bishkek Utopian” provided significant informational support for the production, as did Petrov's books “Pishpek Disappearing” and “Frunze Soviet.” We studied numerous archives and collected a large number of interviews, which were processed into monologues. We would like to include even more things. That construction boom was observed back in Soviet times. Some things are lost forever. Our subject of research is what future awaits us… In our play, we would very much like to look at what was and what will be,” said the director of the play, Sergey Lysenko.
That evening, we were prompted to reflect on the city’s problems by Gaisarova, Shchetinina, Bagdasarova, Selezneva, Rakyimbaeva, Cherkasov, Shegay, Abdumuslimova, Irgashev, and others. “The City Where I – is a mix of two theaters – play and documentary. The production lasts one hour and forty minutes, but the audience is not bored throughout the entire performance, as the actors often address the audience with philosophical questions.
- Every viewer of our production should find their place in the city. To think about the meaning of the word ‘city dweller.’ And often during the preparation of the play, we heard from people that our city is like a big train station, and the theme of ‘To leave or to stay’ constantly resonated, and we showed the waiting room,” notes Sergey Lysenko.
- This play is formed on the edge of two genres. Unfortunately, not all topics could be included within the framework of the production. Some moments are played in improvisation, and sometimes you don’t know what to expect from your partner,” noted actress and director Olga Shchetinina.
The audience was simply thrilled with the performance, as each of us became part of the play, having participated in community clean-ups, meetings, and waiting rooms. Guests left the theater filled with positive emotions and carried tree saplings, which the actors presented during the “Green Planting” celebration. Upon returning home, each viewer will plant it in their yard, thus making this city greener.
