His plays later expanded into other realms, particularly historical figures and dramas. “Khan Kene” play staged in Kazakh Academic Drama Theater named after Mukhtar Auezov. The legend of Enlik and Kebek’s love was turned into an opera in 1975 with music composed by Gaziza Zhubanova and the libretto by poet Sagi Zhienbayev. It was first staged in professional theater in 1926 in the then capital of Kyzylorda. The play was revised by the author several times in 1922, 1943, and in 1956. Through the persona of Kengirbay – a local authority who orders Enlik and Kebek to be torturously executed, Auezov expounds on the theme of the inhumanity behind the blind following of customs of the ancestors and of religious dogmas that justify any crime if the proper bribe is given. “The history of Kazakh theatrical art begins with this play, which is performed in theaters to this day,” wrote Alimzhanov.īeing a love story at first sight, the play reflects the author’s resentment against the feudal system and rigid customs.

The play was staged by fellow villagers and relatives of Abai and since then the story of the Kazakh Romeo and Juliet has remained one of the central plays to be staged in the biggest Kazakh theatres for over a century now. The 20-year-old Mukhtar Auezov created one of a kind theater in the steppe.” Petersburg went to storm the Winter Palace, in the remote steppe behind Semipalatinsk, in the village of Oikuduk an event occurred that cannot be forgotten today. Kazakh writer Anuar Alimzhanov wrote about the play “…in the autumn of 1917 when the workers of St. The character of Enlik is played by Biken Rimova and Kebek is played by Nurmakhan Zhanturin. In 1917, at the age of 20, Auezov put his first play, “Enlik-Kebek,” together based on a story from folk legend about the tragic fate of two young people in love, which took him only seven days to write on the occasion of the marriage of Abai’s granddaughter Akkysh. His works are regarded as marking the inception of the era of Kazakh drama. Famous for his book, “The Path of Abai,” which tells the story of the prominent poet and thinker Abai and which has transformed the way generations perceive the wisdom of the life of a 20th century Kazakh influential, Auezov was an extraordinary literary figure – an acclaimed writer and novelist, translator, and a folklorist, who was also an outstanding playwright.Īlthough he was more known for his novels, Auezov was also a prolific playwright, writing some 20 plays, including “Enlik-Kebek” love-tragedy, the liberation struggle of two sisters in “Aiman-Sholpan,” and the shaping of a poet in “Abai” that established the foundations of Kazakh theater.

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