Five countries, one stage: the theater festival "Hearts of Four — Bridge of Friendship" opened in Tashkent

Five countries, one stage: "Hearts of Four — Bridge of Friendship" theater festival opens in Tashkent

On October 14, the International Festival of Russian Drama Theaters "Hearts of Four – Bridge of Friendship" began in Tashkent. This is the fourth time it is taking place in Uzbekistan, having first been organized in 2023 by theater producer and board member of the Association of Workers of Russian Theaters Abroad Irina Khilkova with the support of the Rossotrudnichestvo representative office in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

This year, theater directors, stage directors, and actors from five countries are participating in the festival: Uzbekistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Over the course of five days, they will present their productions and conduct educational events to exchange experience, support creative cooperation, and thereby promote the development of Russian performing arts and cultural ties between their countries.

As Irina Staroselskaya, head of the Rossotrudnichestvo representative office in the Republic of Uzbekistan, emphasized, she sees great prospects in the "Hearts of Four" festival and hopes that all of them will be realized.

"We want it to be genuinely useful. So that everything we do isn't just for show, just to tick a box," she explained. "So that our artists receive a good education, have the opportunity to pass that education on to the younger generation — and, of course, so that they show their talents in other cities and other countries."

The first day of the festival opened with a panel discussion titled "Bridge of Friendship of Russian Theaters," which took place at the Russian House under the chairmanship of Irina Khilkova and Irina Staroselskaya. Theater representatives, including Yuri Ivlev, Director of the Kostanay Regional Russian Drama Theater; Sergei Fedotov, Artistic Director of the Perm "Near the Bridge" Theater; and Munira Dadaeva, Director of the Vladimir Mayakovsky State Russian Drama Theater, exchanged ideas for creative projects, shared their experience of participating in major theater festivals, and spoke about the specificities and difficulties they regularly face in their work.

Immediately following the discussion, the first educational events of the festival began. Theater critic and Associate Professor of the Russian Theater Department at RGISI Alexander Platunov gave a lecture at the Russian House on the repertoire policy of Russian theaters abroad, while Professor of the Stage Speech Department at VGIK Irina Avtushenko conducted a stage speech masterclass on the stage of the State Academic Russian Drama Theater of Uzbekistan.

The concluding event of the festival's first day was the official opening of the theatrical program at the State Youth Theater of Uzbekistan. The first production to open the festival season was the vibrant, comical performance "Maskharoboz Show." According to Irina Staroselskaya, this play was chosen specifically to clearly demonstrate to all festival participants how Uzbekistan knows how to welcome its guests. "Next, there will be more classical works, but today we wanted this kind of lightness, hospitality, and openness," she explained.

The "Hearts of Four – Bridge of Friendship" festival will run in Tashkent until October 18. During these days, all its participants will have the opportunity to attend lectures, seminars, and masterclasses, as well as regular performances of plays such as "Marriage," "The Puppy," "Animal Stories," and other productions.