Ecstasy with the Pomegranate

Taking place in Tashkent during 1916-1917, this is a fantastic and complex retelling of the life of painter Aleksandr Nikolaev, a student of Russian painter Kasimir Malevich, who takes refuge in Uzbekistan in the months preceding the Russian Revolution (Oct. 1917). He falls in love with Uzbeki, converts to Islam, and adopts the name Usto Mumin. He becomes enchanted with Bacha, a traditional Uzbek dance form traditionally performed by men as women that was forgotten after the Soviet Revolution and the rise of Stalin. Ecstasy with the Pomegranate deals with cultural interactions between the Sufi or Uzbek culture and the Russian (and then later) Soviet military stationed in Tashkent.

Following the Seattle engagement, Ilkhom Theatre Company will head to Dartmouth College, Hopkins Center, Hanover, NH (April 18-19); Indiana University, Bloomington, IN (April 23); Miami University, Hall Auditorium, Oxford, OH (April 25-26); and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA (May 16-18).