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Abstract

This paper examines the Ilkhom Theatre in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, as a unique site of queer aesthetic resistance and cultural subversion in post-Soviet Central Asia. Founded in 1976 by director Mark Weil, Ilkhom began as an experimental youth studio navigating the ideological boundaries of late Soviet culture. However, in the wake of Uzbekistan’s independence, Ilkhom’s productions underwent a profound shift: they began openly confronting topics of sexuality, gender, and identity at a moment of rising nationalism, religious conservatism, and moral censorship.

Focusing on key productions from the 1990s to early 2000s—My White Mercedes (1991), White White Black Stork (1998), and Ecstasy with the Pomegranate (2006)—this paper traces how Weil infused classical and contemporary Uzbek literature with queer subtexts, appropriating and queering canonical narratives to interrogate both Soviet and national discourses. While many cultural institutions in the region distanced themselves from controversial topics, Ilkhom provocatively staged same-sex desire, cross-dressing, and gender ambiguity, often at great personal and political risk. These productions not only challenged local taboos but also reimagined the very role of theater as a space of embodied dissent.

Drawing on archival materials, interviews, and contemporary criticism, this paper positions Ilkhom as a radical outlier within the cultural landscape of Central Asia. It argues that queerness at Ilkhom was not merely thematic but structural, shaping its dramaturgical strategies, pedagogy, and performative aesthetics. Ultimately, the paper contends that Ilkhom’s queer theatrical language constituted a form of political resistance that continues to resonate in contemporary discussions around censorship, identity, and cultural autonomy in Central Asia.