The Galiaskar Kamal Tatar Academic Theatre (russian: Татарский Академический Театр имени Галиаскара Камала, tt-Cyrl, Галиәсгар Камал исемендәге татар дәүләт академия театры) is the leading

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

theater in

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Named after the playwright Galiaskar Kamal, it was founded on December 22, 1906. The first known Tatar theatrical efforts were during the 19th century when Tatar amateur theater groups emerged in some cities and towns of Russia with sizable Tatar populations. The first published Tatar-language play was "Unhappy Girl" (1886) by Gabdrakhman Ilyasi (1856–1895), written perhaps under the influence of the first Turkish playwright

İbrahim Şinasi İbrahim Şinasi (5 August 1826 – 13 September 1871) was a pioneering Ottoman intellectual, author, journalist, translator, playwright, and newspaper editor. He was the innovator of several fields: he wrote one of the earliest examples of an Ot ...

and his play "Şair Evlenmesi" (A Poet's Marriage) which was published in 1860. Both plays deal with the problem of

arranged marriages Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

which were very common at that time. In the middle of the 19th century, Tatar amateur theater groups staged free performances in private houses and were attended by very few people. Their

repertoire A repertoire () is a list or set of dramas, operas, musical compositions or roles which a company or person is prepared to perform. Musicians often have a musical repertoire. The first known use of the word ''repertoire'' was in 1847. It is a l ...

usually included the plays of Russian and foreign playwrights. The first public performance of a Tatar play in modern times took place in 1906 and was organized by the group "Sayar" (The Traveler). "Sayar" eventually became the leading Tatar professional theater company. In 1939 it was renamed after the playwright Galiaskar Kamal. In 1987, the company moved to its current building on the shore of the lakes Qaban. The theater's current repertoire consists mostly of plays written by Tatar playwrights but includes many plays of Russian and foreign playwrights as well. The theater provides special translation devices to audience members who do not understand

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

. One of the peculiar features of Tatar culture during Soviet times was that

Tatarstan The Republic of Tatarstan (russian: Республика Татарстан, Respublika Tatarstan, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə tətɐrˈstan; tt-Cyrl, Татарстан Республикасы), or simply Tatarstan (russian: Татарстан, tt ...

, being an "autonomous republic" rather than a "union republic" within the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, was not allowed by Moscow to have its own film studio (whereas each "union republic" was entitled to one). As a result, most Tatar actors, producers and directors could develop their talents only within the realm of theater. All artistic talent in those fields of self-expression was concentrated exclusively in theater rather than both theater and film. This fact might explain the extraordinary commercial success of the Tatar theater and the remarkably high quality of its productions, as well as the enormous popularity of theater as a genre among Tatars.

References

See also