The project of Kharkiv “Theatre na Zhukah” and London BeFrank Theatre Company will receive the support within the framework of European programme “Tandem”, aimed at the development of cultural and civil society in Ukraine and strengthening its ties with the European countries.
The representatives of two theatres met on the forum of the “Tandem” programme in November in Lviv. Twenty representatives of cultural organizations from Ukraine and European countries were chosen on a competitive basis to participate in the forum. Within a few days, the participants had a possibility to find common ground with potential partners and to develop the idea of joint actions. According to the announced results, 12 out of 20 projects, proposed by tandems, will receive the financial support. The English-Ukrainian theatre project is among them.
The main part of the project will be master classes and workshops for students of Ukrainian theatre institutes. The British guests will show how the information that surrounds us can be converted into a theatrical action.
“BeFrank Theatre” makes the stagings on the documentary basis, deeply exploring contemporary social processes in different countries. In April 2015 the staging “The Point of No Return”, based on the events of the Maidan, will be released in London. To make this staging the group leader Tommy Lexen came to Ukraine on purpose, interviewing people in different cities, studying the sentiment of people. He takes from the air the up-to-date information and makes an interesting performance on its basis – this is a foundation of his work.
In Ukraine, which is now changing rapidly, such productions that acute match the reality are in demand, but very few people know how to make them qualitatively. We hope that our project for students will push the development of documentary theatre in Ukraine “, – said the producer “Theatre na Zhukah” Dmitro Ternovyj.
The trainings and the workshops by Tommy Lex and his colleagues are planned to be organized in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv in the fall next year. Also the public discussions, joint trainings and master classes of “Zhuki” and BeFrank Theatre are to be hold.
In addition, D.Ternovyj said he intends to look for opportunities to organize in Ukraine the showing of the English production about Maidan. “These performances followed by discussions with the audience would give us the opportunity to see ourselves and our own events from the other point of view, it is better to hear and understand each other, and thus reduce the barriers that divide us,” – he said.
“Theatre na Zhukah” launched an educational project for students of theatre schools “Theatrical window to Europe” in 2011. Within the context of this project the directors of Western theatres periodically give master classes for Ukrainian students. Previously, students were introduced to the methods of work of modern Polish theatre and traditional French commedia dell’arte.
BeFrank Theatre (http://justbefrank.eu) was found in 2010. It makes showings based on real life stories, current events, key social and political events, uniting journalists, scientists, musicians, political experts in the process of work in order to examine different points of view on the major issues of global peace.
“Theatre na Zhukah” was opened in December 2007. It has both classical and contemporary plays in its repertoire. Based on the national tradition, it is opened to the perception of creative experiment of other schools. It’s been an active participant in many festivals, including the foreign ones. It also has an extensive experience in the implementation of various international projects.
TANDEM programme “Dialogue for Change” is being implemented within the framework of community initiatives of MitOst and UNAEDI. It is based on the belief that in the transition period of crisis Ukraine is going through cultural cross-border collaborations supports not only the dialogue, but also allows for the development of new forms of civic engagement, supporting a process of social transformation.
