A play reading of It is impossible to leave Karaganda by Olga Malysheva

It is impossible to leave Karaganda is a mystical drama with elements of autofiction - a trip-play in which the protagonist seeks a way out of the labyrinth of her own memory. Along her path, she encounters enigmatic characters who bring her no closer to answering how to escape this looped space, or whether it is even possible. Because this escape from Karaganda feels all too much like an attempt to flee from herself.

The first staged reading of It is impossible to leave Karaganda took place at the Ilkhom Theatre in Tashkent in 2024.

At Almaty Museum of Arts, the play receives its Kazakhstan premiere.

The play’s dialogue is written in two languages, Kazakh and Russian, with bilingualism functioning both as an artistic device and as a means of self-identification for both the protagonist and the playwright.

A separate narrative thread is formed by the soundtrack, carefully integrated into the text by the playwright. Featuring 13 tracks ranging from Radiohead to “maslo chyornogo tmina”, it allows the audience to quite literally hear everything unfolding in the protagonist’s mind.

The staged reading is presented by the independent theatre collective Project Iskusstvo.

Playwright: Olga Malysheva

Director of the staged reading: Dmitry Gomzyakov

Cast:

Laura Kobelekova

Dinmukhamed Shynybayev

Kira Kuzyrova

Yulia Gomzyakova

Aziz Beishenaliev

Olga Malysheva

Olga Malysheva is a Kazakh playwright and theatre producer. She has written around twenty plays and contributed to the creation of more than ten productions in both state and independent theatres across Kazakhstan. Her works have been longlisted and shortlisted for national and international playwriting festivals, received awards in dramatic writing competitions, and have been presented as staged readings and workshop productions in nine countries. Her plays have been translated into English, Romanian and Polish. Twice a year, she curates and produces Dramarathon, a micro-festival of short plays held at the Transforma arts space in Almaty.

Dmitry Gomzyakov is a theatre director, educator and founder of Project Iskusstvo. His work explores contemporary human experience through theatre, documentary practices and performance. His productions engage with themes of identity, loneliness, memory, relationships and the search for one’s place in the world. Named “Director of the Year” by Orda.kz, he is the creator of productions including Animal, Sun Line, Persona, and other projects presented at independent theatre venues across Kazakhstan.

Free access with museum entrance ticket.