Ilkhom Theatre

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Ilkhom Theatre is a theatre company based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Founded by Mark Weil (Марк Яковлевич Вайль) in 1976, it was the first independent theatre in the Soviet Union, and remains self-supporting to this day. Weil was murdered in September 2007. His last production was the Greek tragedy The Oresteia; despite his murder the day before it was scheduled to open, the actors went ahead because, according to them and to Mark Weil, the show must go on. In 2011 Ilkhom Theatre won one of the Prince Claus Awards.