On September 11, a roundtable titled "Contemporary Playwriting from Asia, Africa, South America, the Arab World, Russia, and Emerging Directing" was held at the XI St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum. The moderator was Evgeny Mironov, Artistic Director of the Theatre of Nations, People's Artist of Russia, and State Prize laureate.
The discussion took place within the Theatre thematic session. Participants included Jianjun Li, director and Artistic Director of the New Youth Group theatre company; Birkan Görgün, resident director of the Istanbul State Theatre; playwright Palesa Mazamisa; director Soyzhin Zhambalova; director and choreographer Kaltoum Amin; Ayşe Emel Mesci, director at the Ankara State Theatre; playwright Ali Berktay; directors Isa Al Sandid and Alejandro González Puche; theatre critic Yultan Sadykova; stage director and Artistic Director of the Alexandrinsky Theatre Nikita Kobelev; director and playwright Dante Passarelli; Gulsina Mirgalieva, Artistic Director of the K. Kuanyshbayev Kazakh National Music and Drama Theatre; writer Mo Yan, Nobel Prize laureate in Literature.
Speakers discussed the development of contemporary playwriting and the importance of Russian culture in their countries. As Gulsina Mirgalieva, Artistic Director of the K. Kuanyshbayev Kazakh National Music and Drama Theatre, noted: Kazakhstan has its longest border with Russia. We were together within the Soviet Union, so we share common interests, joys, pains, and contradictions. Naturally, this has influenced playwriting. Every theatre in Kazakhstan stages the entire Russian classical repertoire. We have sixteen Russian state theatres where performances are only in Russian, not to mention private theatres. As for contemporary playwriting, at the National Theatre in Astana we hold readings of new drama so that young playwrights become known, and so we discover them as well. New names are appearing whose works are being staged at our State Theatre. We have staged all of Chekhov and all of Dostoevsky, and in December we premiere Anna Karenina.
During the discussion, the topic of Chinese culture, its development, and productions in Russian theatres was touched upon. Stage director and artistic director
Stage director and Artistic Director of the Alexandrinsky Theatre Nikita Kobelev spoke about his production inspired by Chinese culture: "Until recently, the drama and literature of Asia, Africa, South America, and the Arab world were not widely represented in the repertoires of Russian theatres." Interest in literature from China has increased significantly. Several laboratories devoted to Chinese drama have already been held in Russian theatres. Productions have emerged at the Moscow Theatre of Nations, at the St. Petersburg Baltic House Theatre Festival, and there are productions based on Chinese literature in the regions as well.
Speakers addressed the issues they raise in their plays to spark audience response. Several laboratories devoted to Chinese drama have already been held in Russian theatres. A challenge for directors has been audience misunderstanding caused by inaccurate translations.
According to director Soyzhin Zhambalova, "All the drama had been translated, and the themes embedded in the texts did not always align with our mentality or support our cultural code. That is why we held a laboratory." Professional playwrights taught several people to write plays in their own language. Several sharp plays emerged that resonated with audiences across the country, which became important for everyone. As soon as vital topics are raised, theatre sheds its nationality, and the problem becomes shared.