On Thursday May 15, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and Dushanbe Mayor Rustam Emomali, who is also speaker of Tajikistan’s upper house (Majlisi Milli) of parliament, Rustam Emomali, reviewed the progress of the construction of the National Theater of Tajikistan in Dushanbe, according to the Tajik president’s official website.
The construction began on March 17, 2015, in the center of the capital — near the National Museum and the National Flag Park of Tajikistan.
During the visit, Rahmon was reportedly informed that the reinforced concrete work is nearing completion and will be finished within a month. Around 500 workers are currently involved in the construction.
Emomali Rahmon spoke with the workers and specialists, urging them to ensure high-quality and timely completion of the project.
The National Theater of Tajikistan, with a height of 34.5 meters, will consist of two underground and five above-ground floors. Around 3 hectares of land have been allocated for its construction.
According to the project, the theater will include three large halls and many other rooms and facilities. The main hall will have a capacity of 2,500 seats, while the other two will each seat 1,000 people.
The theater will also feature an orchestra pit, rehearsal rooms, a hotel, and other essential facilities for performers, all designed to meet international standards.
The underground floors will include parking for 250 cars, as well as numerous technical and utility rooms. The building will be equipped with heating, air purification, and air conditioning systems, and will include 17 passenger and freight elevators, along with 6 escalators.
President Emomali Rahmon laid the theater’s cornerstone on March 17, 2015. The five-story building will abut the National Museum in the flagpole area.
Ms. Matloubakhon Sattoriyon, the Minister of Culture of Tajikistan, told reporters in Dushanbe on January 27 this year the National Theater of Tajikistan will be inaugurated “in time for the celebration of the country’s 35th Independence Anniversary in September 2026.”
Once completed, it will expand a list of ambitious projects implemented in Dushanbe. Earlier projects include what was briefly the world’s tallest flagpole, completed in 2011. Tajikistan also claims to have Central Asia’s largest library (completed in 2012), biggest museum (2013) and largest teahouse (2014).
Meanwhile, some experts say Tajikistan does not appear to have an abundance of theatregoers, nor does it need more theaters.
Thus, the 500-seat hall of Dushanbe’s Abulqosim Lohouti Academic Theater is reportedly often nearly empty. Only when school groups come, it is half full. It is a similar story at other theatres in Dushanbe.
Theatre lovers say the end of state subsidies after the fall of the Soviet Union left drama troupes and art schools underfunded.
