«Ecstasy With The Pomegranate» by M.Weil, Dm.Tikhomirov
Fantasy on the vanished time and the paintings of the artist Alexander NIKOLAEV (USTO MUMIN)
 The action is developing from May 1916 to October 1917
in the City of Tashkent.
The Epilogue: many years later
Regardless of the visible presence of Alexander NIKOLAEV’s works (as the main source of our inspiration), and repeatedly used documentary texts, the creators ask you not to draw any direct analogies to the biography of the artist and other people that lived in his time. The dates of a number of events were deliberately altered within the space of Creative Fantasy.
The performance «Ecstasy with a Pomegranate», as faith decreed, was created in the year of:
The 140th anniversary of The New Tashkent – the border in time that inspired a New History into the centuries-old chronicle of the city, and turned Tashkent into a capital, and a megalopolis inhabited by almost 3 million people.
The 110th anniversary of Alexander NIKOLAEV (USTO MUMIN) – a legendary artist that inspired us to create the performance.
The 100th anniversary of Rakhim KARIEV – a genuine art worker, the first to back up the birth of the ILKHOM theatre, in spite of his declining years and the resistance of the Soviet system of the 70s.
The 30th anniversary of ILKHOM – a cult theatre of numerous generations of spectators, a theatre that was born- and that found its position in the world probably thanks to the afore-mentioned developments.
Ecstasy here means «divine joy». The state of ecstasy brings a person to the state of divinity according to the Sufis.
They strived for that state by all possible means. Dipping into the state of ecstasy the Sufis chanted phrases that brought them to a sub-conscious revelation.
-...The rascal is handsome, there is no denying. You know, they are accidental guests here, batchas of the Kushbegui (governor) of Guissar. People say that the Emir has better ones…
-...say what you will, it is repulsive to watch, though…
- «What?» - D. turned to me, ‘Repulsive? That’s nonsense… You cannot deny that it’s beautiful, so watch- and throw out conditioned ethics…»
From the memoirs of D.N.Logofet ‘Scetches about the Central Asia’, StPetersburg, 1913
A PHOTOLINE OF PERFORMANCE «ECSTASY WITH A POMEGRANATE» M.Weil, D.Tihomirov (Timur Karpova's photo, September 2007)
Authors’ and stage managers’ group:
Directed by Mark Weil
Choreography by David Rousseve (USA).
Composer - Artem Kim.
Set Design by - Bobur Ismailov
Videoart - Evgeniy Padalkin
Assistant to Director - Maxim Tumenev
The English translation of the play’s text and documents by Aleksandra Weil, with participation of Tyler Polumsky and Anastasia Leliukh.
Translation of the rehearsing process - Maxim Tumenev, Evelina Yusupova.
 CAST
Aleksandr Vasilevich Nezhdanov, the painter. His second name, a pseudonym, is – Usto.
Anton Pakhomov
Valerian Petrovich Byaltsev: The Colonel
and he Pavel Kibirev
Boris Gafurov
Sergey Vladimirovich Zvyagintsev, the Colonel’s adjutant
Nikolay Leonov,
Iliya Dudochkin
Vasiliy Skoroukhin: Lance corporal, batman to the Colonel.
Pavel Lukashenko,
Gleb Kosikhin
Alisher
Denis Boiko
Salakhutdin
Jakhongir Shakhobitdinov
Makhmud
Said Khudaibergenov
Karim
Vladimir Yudin
Nodira, girl-bocha
Rayhon Ulasenova,
Nargis Abdullaeva
Takhir: a former bocha and owner of the Choi-Khona (Uzbek Tea-house)
Farukh Khaldjigitov
Wife of Colonel Byaltsev: Elena Vladimirovna Byaltsev
Honoured Actress of Uzbekistan Marina Turpisheva
A Woman from the Old City (Muslim part of town)
Rayhon Ulasenova,
Nargis Abdullaeva
Voice recording by Alisher Atadjanov Zafar Rakhimov.
In the sound recording took part Abror Zufarov (vocal, sato),
The sound recorded in the Ilkhom ART-MEDIA Studio.
The duration of the performance is 2 h. 50 min. with intermission.
The premiere took place on 9 October 2006
Photo from performance
 
 
 
 
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