"Diary of a Madman" to be staged in Baku

22 January 2021 12:17 (UTC+04:00)

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By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan State Theater of Young Spectators will stage "Diary of a Madman" on January 24. The play will be shown online amid coronavirus pandemic.

Honored artist Shovgu Huseynov will perform in the mono-performance staged by People's Artist Jannat Salimova.

"Diary of a Madman" is a farcical short story by Nikolai Gogol. Along with "The Overcoat" and "The Nose", "Diary of a Madman" is considered to be one of Gogol's greatest short stories.

The tale centers on the life of a minor civil servant during the repressive era of Nicholas I. Following the format of a diary, the story shows the descent of the protagonist, Poprishchin, into insanity. "Diary of a Madman", the only one of Gogol's works written in first person, follows diary-entry format.

The short story has been adapted for the stage by David Holman, Geoffrey Rush and Neil Armfield for the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia. The production has also been presented at the Brooklyn Academy of Musicand at the Quintessence Theater Group.

Founded in 1928, the State Theater of Young Spectators (ASTYS) was known as Baku Children’s Theater

The theater's team included Aghadadash Gurbanov, Mammadagha Dadashov, Yusif Eminli, Mina Abdullayeva, Yusif Dadashov, Susanna Majidova, Javahir Isgandarova, Suleyman Alasgarov, Huseynagha Sadikhov, Karim Hasanov, Zafar Nematov, Maharram Hashimov, and Alimammad Atayev.

The Russian section of the theater started its activity on November 6, 1928 when a Russian troupe made a performance of the play "Five people" by N.Smirnov and S.Serbakov here for the first time.

National troupe, created on the basis of drama circle of pioneers affiliated with the Baku Club of Sailors became a member of this theatre, in 1930. Azerbaijani section started on January 30, 1930 with "Against Red tie" by N.Ivanter.

In the first years of its existence, the theater staged plays of Russian writers, which were constituted the repertoire of Young Spectators' Theatres of other cities of the USSR.

In the 1930s, plays of Azerbaijani dramatists were included in the repertoire of the theatre: In the streets by Jafarov and Melik-Yeganov (1932), Nargiz (1936), Ayaz (1937), Gizil Gush (Golden bird) by Seyidzade (1938), and Mammad the Partisan by Isgandarov and Sabit Rahman (1939).[5]

In 1936, the theater was named after Maxim Gorky.

Baku Children’s Theater was renamed based on the order of the Commissariat of Public Enlightenment on July 18, 1936 and has been called Azerbaijan State Theater of Young Spectators since then.

The State Youth Theater and Baku Camera Theater were united to ASTYS according to the decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers in 2009.

Children's and Youth Theaters of Azerbaijan State Theater of Young Spectators was became the member of the International Association of Theater for Children and Young People (ASSITEJ) in May 2011.