

Olzhas Zhanaydarov (Playwright) was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan and moved to Russia when he was five years old. He is a playwright, screenwriter and teacher. Based in Moscow, Olzhas is a member of the Lubimovka Young Playwrights Festival Collective and Founder and Artistic Director of Drama.Kz Festival for young Kazakh playwrights. His plays explore such topics as immigrants in Russia, teenage life, and the history of Kazakhstan. Olzhas was awarded the Grand -Prix of the International Modern Drama Contest Free Theatre. He won First Prize at both the international playwrights’ competition Eurasia and the modern drama for children and teenagers contest Little Premiere. Olzhas received a National Theatre Golden Mask Award nomination for Best Play. His plays have been staged in cities across Russia and Kazakhstan, including Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Ufa, Astana, and Almaty. His work has been translated into English, German, French, Polish, Czech, Turkish and other languages.