History of staging
For the first time, the play was put on the stage of the State Theatre on December 21, 1920 by Abbas Mirza Sharifzade. “Iblis” is considered as the first verse drama of Azerbaijan, which was put on the stage. The first staging of “Iblis” is considered as a significant event in the theatrical life of Azerbaijan. Then, the theatre used all available facilities in order to make a colorful romantic spectacle. Despite minor technical means, the theater achieved interesting views for war, fire scenes, effective disappearance and appearance of personages. A scene of feast in the last act was also very interesting. Ballet was broadly used in the play.
Iblis’s piece was played by Sharifzade himself. Critics noted that this character created by Sharifzade, didn’t remind of the “European” Mephistopheles at all. And whereas the poet was far from a presentation of the Devil’s appearance, which was typical for the Eastern folklore (where it was often described as blind in one eye). It is considered that Iblis created by Sharifzade was strict, magnificent, angry, embodying evil and revenge, spreading fear and confusion, was pathetic and ironic. And when Iblis assumed the aspect of human, the actor played a piece of an experienced old man, inclined to philosophic thoughts seeming humane, calling sympathy of surrounding him people. It is also noted that “a romantic ardor, by which a quite complex philosophic subject matter of the play is revealed in the theatre” called “warm sympathy of the spectators”. In December, 1920 a premiere of the play was held in Tashkent with a staging of Uzbek State Troup in Azerbaijani.
For the second time the tragedy was played in Azerbaijan State Drama Theatre a year later, in 1921, with that very staging. Then it was staged by such stage directors as Alexander Ivanov (in 1922) and Alexander Tuganov (in 1926). Theater expert Ilham Rahimli noted that these stagings had either positive or negative moments.
Already in the first years of the Soviet power's existence, the play was translated into Uzbek language. In 1923, the play was staged in Uzbek language.
It was noted that in 1921-1924's the play was staged in Uzbekistan by efforts of Hamza – a cultural figure of Uzbekistan. Influence of this play on development of theatrical art in Uzbekistan and in other republics of Middle Asia was also mentioned. In 1924, the play was put on the stage in Tashkent.
The last staging of the play, during the author's lifetime, was held in 1925.
In 1983, while preparing for the 100th anniversary of Huseyn Javid, Azerbaijan State Academic Drama Theatre included “Iblis” tragedy in their repertoire. Artistic council of the theatre entrusted the staging of the spectacle to Mehdi Mammadov. Mehdi mammadov's “Iblis” possessed a philosophic and psychological depth. The spectacle was staged “in a style of a synthesis of monumentalism and modernism”. The stage director showed the essence of the tragedy's subject matter on the basis of international political relations, because of which it is considered that the spectacle was “original, fresh, compositionally grandiose and majestic”. It was also noted that, an eternal conflict between good and evil, humanity and the Devil's home was expressed through Huseyn Javid's poetry. The Devil's home was expressed through a modern threat of atom and hydrogen bomb. Aydin Azimov's “horror influencing” music, which is based on tremolo string and ostinato beats of timpani, dissonances of woodwind and brass instruments of orchestra created panicky condition of humanity before the terrible.
