Debutante Hour's Susan Hwang and Maria Sonevytsky clap as Ainura Kachkynbek kyzy & Tonia Matvienko turn to stone photo by Victor Marushchenko Ainura Kachkynbek kyzy and Kenzhegul Satybaldieva photo by Victor Marushchenko Tonia Matvienko embraces Nina Matvienko as she gets ready to leave photo by Victor Marushchenko Ainura Kachkynbek kyzy and Tonia Matvienko photo by Victor Marushchenko Nina Matvienko photo by Victor Marushchenko Scythian Stones world music theatre piece – the journeys of two women become epic descents into the Great Below, where songs, skills and languages vanish created by Virlana Tkacz with Yara Arts Group Ukrainian and Kyrgyz artists directed by Virlana Tkacz design by Watoku Ueno movement by Katja Kolcio lights in Bishkek by Bagaim Turembekova Kyrgyz translations by Ainura Kachkynbek kyzy, Kenzhegul Satybaldieva & Munarbek Alibaev with: Nina Matvienko, Tonia Matvienko, Kenzhegul Satybaldieva and Ainura Kachkynbek kyzy Nazira Mambetova, Jamila Kambaralieva, music: Nurbek Serkebaev, Julian Kytasty & Debutante Hour’s Susan Hwang & Maria Sonevytsky Sept 25-30, 2010 at B'Arts Center in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan with related events at American University of Central Asia, and Shubin School of Music PRESS in BISHKEK This contemporary theatre creates an alternative world, and uses ancient forgotten rituals to make us think about the point of life, a question that each new generation faces… Enchanting Ukrainian folk songs and laments sung by Nina Matvienko and her daughter Tonia are interwoven with Kyrgyz laments. Kenzhegul Satybaldieva plays the mother, who grieves for her departing daughter Ainura Kachkybek kyzy. Highlighting the unique features of each folk tradition, the creators of the show at the same time lead the audience to think about the similar roots of humanities problems and feelings, both in the past and today. Berment Malikova, Vecherniy Bishkek, September 29, 2010 The splendid actors, the profound script, the traditional costumes, music, both Kyrgyz and Ukrainian folk songs and even sections from a ancient Sumerian epic about the Descent of Inanna (possibly the oldest literary text on earth created over 4,000 years ago) about a Goddess who finds herself in the Great Below, turn this short show (it runs about one hour) into a real work of art. The actors performed all on one breath. Our leading ladies – the amazing singer Nina Matvienko and her daughter Tonia Mavienko, Kenzhegul Satybaldieva, Ainura Kachkynbek kyzy, Maria Sonevytsky and Susan Hwang – leave no one indifferent. They all beautifully unite in the show their vocals performed with such depth. Halyna Mykhailyna, Slovo Kyrgyzstana, September 29, 2010 What they saw and heard brought some of the audience to tears. Nadezhda Popova, MSN Oct 1, 2010 How can theatre and collaborative projects help to defuse interethnic tensions? “I think art has a greater chance at this than anything else. Theatre is able to show us that the same problems exist with others. This is the deep truth of life. Art helps to uncover that which is hidden, the secrets of the human unconscious.” Interview with Virlana Tkacz by Bermet Malykova, Vechirnyi Bishkek, October 8, 2010 It is amazing how simple is the idea and plot, but how much meaning it conveys, exploring the complicated and basic relationships between mothers and daughters. Nargiza Ryskulova, New Star (Bishkek) October 4, 2010 For more pictures pictures and information on Yara's Scythian Stones