Author: Admin

The Zhuki are preparing the third premier of this year from the play “Break Down” by a Ukrainian play writer Dmytro Ternovy. He will also be the one to play several roles in the performance.

The new performance appears by the theater’s birthday, which is celebrating its 10 years anniversary in December.
“Break Down” a play by the theater’s co-founder and actor, is known by winning the main European drama contest of Eastern Europe “Speaking about Boarders. Living at Times of Change”. It was translated into German, Polish and French but has not yet been staged in Ukraine. It first appeared on stage in 2014 in Germany, at Baden State Theater. Several readings took place in Austria.

Being written a year before the Maidan, the play predicted the future events in many ways. It consists of seven scenes (in some of them lifeless things act), most of them belong to different genres which is a rare case for dramatic works. The play is written for five actors, each of them appears on stages in several roles.

“Even though the play describes situations of private lives in a country close to boil over, the play tells a different story. This is a kind of “helicopeter view” on the current events. This is the only way to see the world view we created. And how fragile, absurd and completely ridiculous it really is. Without this insight, you can barely change it, even when you feel, its time for change”, the director Olha Ternova says.

There will be 7 people playing on stage, she mentioned, “both long term actors of the theater and the newcomers. This creates a lively and interesting ensemble”.

Premiere shows will take place on December 10th and 23th.

2017 was especially successful for the Zhuki: before “Break Down”, they had staged another two shows: “The Fog” by Julio Cortazar and “Amour de Trois or Two Exercises with a Pistol” from plays by French play writers.

The Kharkiv theater Theatre na Zhukah is working on the premiere of “The Fog” from the novel “Final Exam” by Julio Cortazar.

“Final Exam” by Julio Cortazar, one of his first novels, bases on Argentinean materials, unlikely most of his other works. “Final Exam” was written in mid-40-s in Buenos Aires after a military takeover lead by general Peron. A young writer, a teacher of French literature, took part in anti-Peron manifestations. His book could not be published because of the censorship. By that time, only the writer’s closest friends could read it. 

Later, after moving to Paris, Cortázar has applied for a literature competition, but he failed. So he decided not to show this text to anyone. It was only in his later years, when Cortázar, being severely ill, comes back to “Final Exam”. But the novel was published only in 1985 a year after the writer’s death.

“The novel’s destiny is unusual in itself, because it turned out to be a lifelong novel. Julio Cortazar is one of our favorite authors, and “Final Exam” is one of our favorite works. But still, we couldn’t think of staging it”, – the theater director Olha Ternova mentioned. She was the one to do the novel dramatization and the production.

“Still, the events in Ukraine that started three years ago reminded us strongly of the text by Cortazar’, – she mentioned.

“The associations were so strong we could hardly resist them. We couldn’t but think of “Final Exam’, so we came up with the idea to stage the novel. We tried to find the way with this work but due to different reasons, postponed the staging. But it is still relevant for us. I don’t know if it is good or bad. This production is a kind of aesthetic reflection of what we are experiencing today, this crazy life we’re living, where there’s still place for beauty, love and creativity, despite everything.  The only thing we may lack is a conscious attitude to the current events and our own experiences. And this performance is for the admirers of Cortázar, good music, good poetry and for creative minds. All of these are human needs no war can ever destroy. These things are important to me, and I want to speak about them with my audience”, – the director says. The timeline of the novel covers only two days of the protagonists’ lives. These are five friends: Clara, Juan, Anders, Stella, and Reporter who ramble around the city just before their final university exam. As typical for Cortázar, the real and the grotesque word collide inside the text and strange fog turns out to be one of the novel’s feature. Nobody knows where it comes from, but it keeps covering the city.

The play “39 or the Apocalypse Bus” was recognized as the best work in the nomination “adult drama” at “Calmius” literature contest.

The “Calmius” literature contest of Eastern Ukraine was carried out this year for the first time. There were more than 2000 applications of works in Ukrainian for it. 227 contestants have been chosen for the final. On December 11th-12th, in the city of Kramatorsk, they awarded the winners in seven nominations (the children’s and the adult poetry, prose, drama as well a political essays).

The play “39 or the Apocalypse Bus” reconstructs the ambient of a town on a border to the war zone, where the attempts of the people to hide away behind their day-to-day affairs get destroyed by external threats. The action takes place inside of a city bus which turns out to be an “unusual” one: it makes no stops, it keeps going faster and faster and the passengers cannot communicate with the driver. As a result, nobody can guess, where and when the bus goes and what they will find in the end of this crazy journey.

The play was finished in early 2015, it bases fully on Kharkiv events, many names and events are recognizable. Many conversations between the passengers have been painted from life.  “It is very emblematic that the play has won at “Calmius”, in the front-line city of Kramatorsk”, – Dmyto Ternovy mentioned.

There are 41 protagonists in the play, but the author says, “the theater makes everything possible, so it can surely be staged with a smaller number of actors”

The “Calmius” festival was designed as a de-occupation instrument for Donbass. The competition final turned into a literature and artistic festival with artists from all over Ukraine, which contained performances, workshops, presentations, book exhibitions, concerts. We expect a two-part “Calmius’ almanac to be published soon. It will contain all winning works. They plan for a presentation of the almanac.

Dmytro Ternovy is a play writer, co-founder of Theatre na Zhukah, curator of “Theater Window on Europe” project. “Calmius” is the second major contest where he has won as a play writer. In 2012, his play “Break Down” where the events on Maidan were predicted, won the major European drama contest of Eastern Europe “Speaking about Boarders. Living at Times of Change”. The play was published and staged in Germany and Austria, translated into German, Polish and French. Another play of his “The Harlequins” was shown in Theatre na Zhukah several years long.

In the framework of the project “Theatrical Window to Europe” the German director Christian Papke is coming to Ukraine on October 3-6. He’ll conduct master-classes for the students of opera departments in conservatories in Kharkov and Dnieper.

The topic of the training is the combination of solo arias with the onstage action. 12 students has been selected for the classes in both cities, most of them study in their third or fourth years.

The project will take place in the framework of the Days of German Culture in Ukraine. It is supported by the Nuremberg House in Kharkov and by the Consulate General of Germany in Dnieper.

“We met Christian a few years ago. We were impressed by his energy and openness towards Eastern Europe. This young director, the curator of two festivals in Germany and Austria, is very proactive. He puts on stage dramatic and operatic performances around the world. We are happy that he has responded to the idea to organize master-classes for students of opera departments in the framework of our program. We’d been considering this idea for quite a long time, because we believe that in some aspects the art of opera in Ukraine looks pretty archaic in contrast to European background. We hope that the master-classes will give students the opportunity to learn the practical tools that are used in the European theatres”, – said the producer of “Theatre na Zhukah” and the curator of the programme “The Theatrical Window to Europe” Dmitro Ternovyj

“Theatre na Zhukah” initiated the programme “Theatrical Window to Europe” in 2010. Its main idea is to entwine the Ukrainian theatre in the European theatrical context. It is aimed at the students of theatre institutes of higher education and gives them the opportunity to acquire new knowledge and skills. They have practical sessions with masters of different theatre schools. Theatre institutes from Kharkov, Kyiv, Lvov, Dnieper, Nikolayev are involved in this program. Earlier the projects were implemented with the Polish theatres (Grotowski’s and Stanevsky’s schools), the French theatre (Commedia dell’arte), Georgian theatre (Georgian dance), English theatre (documentary theatre) and German theatre (musical theatre).

Theatre na Zhukah brings home two diplomas from the third international contest of Ukrainian theater “East-West” for its performance “Romeo and Juliette”.

The team was awarded a laureate diploma and a diploma for an “Original interpretation of the world’s classics”.

Nadezhda Moroz-Olshanskaya, the festival organizer, mentioned an unusual directing decision, when eight persons on the stage play all the roles and when “every actress is Juliette and every actor – Romeo” as well as “plain and fascinating scenography based on a mix of white and red”.

“Even through the spectators know the final, the actors of Theatre na Zhukah electrified them till the last minute”, – she said and added: “I am deeply impressed by the scene when Romeo gets the poison from the Apothecary’s hands, which drives the very mechanism of tragic despair”.

As it was already announced in late April, Theatre na Zhukah is going for a big trip around the countries of Europe, starting with a performance at a festival in Krakow. The theater also played two performances in Paris, Munich and Nuremberg.

The producer of Theatre na Zhukah Dmytro Ternovy mentioned that the main goal of the tour was to find out how the European spectators react on their performances. “It was extremely important for us to see how our new production Ex Nihil will be perceived. We believe it must be clear for any audience. Generally it turned out to be so and we collected touching feedback after the show”.

“Many performances, many stages we needed to quickly reclaim, workshops – all of that gives us new and valuable experience we can use in the future”, – he said.

Theatre na Zhukah is going for a two-week journey around countries of Europe to take part in several festivals and projects.

The theater is bringing its most modern shows Ex Nihil, a meditation performance, and “Romeo and Juliette” in a neoclassical interpretation. They plan for seven performances in Krakow, Paris, Munich and Nuremberg. The theater’s director Olha Ternova will hold two author’s workshops devoted to the attention in the actor’s craft.

Already this Saturday, on April 23rd, the Zhuki will show their “Romeo and Juliette’ as part of the third international contest of Ukrainian theater “East-West” for its performance “Romeo and Juliette”.

And on April 25th and 29th the theater will give its performance Ex Nihil in the capital of France, where the team is taking part in the actions of the “Ukrainian season in Paris”.

On May 1st and 2nd, the Zhuki will show both performances in Munich as part of a theater marathon at “The City” cultural center. And on May 6th and 7th they will play Ex Nihil in Nuremberg.

“Romeo and Juliette” is not only a love story but also a story about the passions that drive humans. Here we see eight actors play all the roles. This is a kind of total theater where everyone plays everyone and the spectator can observe how the passions reflect in each of us depending on the circumstances we find ourselves in.

Ex Nihil is a performance without a drama base. It tells a story about the search for freedom and the true self. There are almost no words there. The words you can still hear are pronounced in different languages and are secondary compared to the action.  The performance was created and changed during the most difficult and at the same time inspiring events in the history of modern Ukraine, which is reflected in the production. The performance is created in the genre of meditation, which the director and the actors of the theater came up with. The Zhuki invite the spectators to dwell in this meditation, accept the flow of images and associations to see their own unique show.

Dear organizers!

We are glad to welcome the festival of a new type which is a unique event for Ukraine due to the presence of European critics and international theatre forums. This particular level of the festival under the patronage of the European Theatre Convention (ETC) gives an opportunity to evaluate one’s creative work from the point of the contemporary theatre context and gives a chance to the best performances to be selected for big international festivals without leaving Ukraine.

We are thankful to the ETC for the attention and attempts to support the Ukrainian theatre process. We are deeply sure that such attempts are worth continuing as cultural cooperation between Ukraine and Europe is as important as economical or political one.

We are sorry to admit the fact that there was almost no selection of performances during the Ukrainian Theatre Showcase which took place in Kyiv last December. As a result, the major part of the performances shown there were those from Kyiv theatres whereas regional theatres had no chance to take part in the selection. Many of the theatres learnt about the event post factum. Having no doubts about the appropriate level of the selected performances and understanding the lack of time to prepare the forum and also taking into account not sufficient financing, we would like to bring up for public discussion of all the interested people and organizations our propositions aimed at improving the situation in the future.

1. The Ukrainian organizing committee of the festival supported by the theatre community should address the ETC with the initiative to make the Ukrainian Theatre Showcase a priority project in the Ukrainian direction of this organization.

2. To make the Ukrainian Theatre Showcase an annual event. This can lead to dynamic changes in Ukrainian theatre process as such a forum can be a real instrument of involving the Ukrainian theatre into the European theatre context.

3. To make up and announce clear principles of the selection for the Ukrainian Theatre Showcase based on the position of leading theatre critics and performance selection specialists.

4. To hold the Ukrainian Theatre Showcase not only in Kyiv but also in other regions of Ukraine. Such an approach can help to give equal chances to participants and form a common theatre space inside Ukraine thanks to breaking the isolation between Kyiv and regional theatres.

5. To invite experienced European theatre specialist to the process of organizing the next two Showcases (capital and regional). It would also be great to make them accompanied by Ukrainian specialists as it could help our theatre management to learn this new sphere.

6. We are glad to propose Kharkiv as a place for the next Ukrainian Theatre Showcase. This city is one of the most important theatre centers in Ukraine with six state theatres, about forty alternative theatres and also two profile state higher schools and several private authorial schools.

7. To initiate a discussion about founding a national theatre award of the Ukrainian Theatre Showcase.

We are deeply sure that the Ukrainian Theatre Showcase can become not only an effective mechanism to select the most interesting Ukrainian theatre groups that can represent Ukraine in Europe in a worthy manner, but it can also become the main Ukrainian festival-contest having no analogues in the country nowadays. It can represent famous European performances which are out of competition and provide a high level of quality and trust being the event that can absolutely change Ukrainian theatre process and help make Ukrainian and European cultures closer.

Faithfully yours,

Dmytro Ternovyi, playwright, producer of the “Theatre na Zhukah” (Kharkiv), curator of the project “Theatrical window to Europe”

Olga Ternova, director of the “Theatre na Zhukah” (Kharkiv)

Artem Vusyk, director of the theatre “Prekrasni Kvity” (Kharkiv)

Ihor Kliuchnyk, director of the acting technique school “Testo”, manager of the theatre “Prekrasni Kvity” (Kharkiv)

Svitlana Oleshko, director of the theatre “Arabesques”

Mariia Borakivska, teacher of Kotliarevskyi Kharkiv National University of Arts, actress

Oleksandr Shpyliovyi, manager of the theatre “May be” (Kharkiv)

Oksana Dmytrieva, chief director of Afanasyev Kharkiv State Academic Puppet Theatre

Oleksandr Kovshun, chief director of Kharkiv state theatre for children and the youth

Iryna Kobzar, art director of Vinor Theatre-Studio, actress of T.Shevchenko Kharkiv Academic Ukrainian State Drama Theatre, senior instructor of Kotliarevskyi Kharkiv National University of Arts

Ihor Shulha, founder of Theatre Space “Svoyi”, actor and director (Dnipropetrovsk)

Volodymyr Horyslavets, art director of the authorial theatre “Kotelok”, instructor of the department of producers of Kharkiv State Academy of Culture, author of the festivals Kurbalesiia, I and Sela Bruk, ArTiuzArt

Oksana Stetsenko, honoured artist of Ukraine, director and actress of T.Shevchenko Kharkiv Academic Ukrainian State Drama Theatre (Berezil), instructor of Kotliarevskyi Kharkiv National University of Arts

Viktoriia Chernova, actress and director of the theatre “Virymo” (Dnipropetrovsk)

Volodymyr Piterov, manager and art director of the model art group Theatre-studio “Poklykannia” (Odessa), president of Ukrainian union of actors and directors of the theatre, cinema and television.

Anischenko Artemije, head of the NGO “Creative Union« ART-Theme “by” our new theater “(Pryluky)

Ruslan Porytsk, director and producer of theater “mess”, organizer of the festival “Walking hanger” (Lutsk)

Elena Ovodenko, organizer and actress of Dnipropetrovsk Regional Academic Youth Theatre,

Rose Sarkisyan, director of the theater DeFacto

Vladimir Kakuryn, Organizer theatrical festival “Live!”

Oleg Stefan, actor Kurbas’s Theatre (Lviv), Lecturer Faculty of Culture and Arts of Lviv National University

Oleksiy Wright, theater MDT, Kharkiv

Anastasiia Hayshenets, theater critic, Kyiv

Igor Ladenko, director, Theatre 19

Elena Libo, head of the literary and dramatic Kharkiv Drama Theater. Shevchenko (Berezil)

Maxim Ryapulov, theater actor “Verym!” (Dnipropetrovsk)

Eugene Syvook, actress laboratory “Nine” (Kharkiv)

Kira Malinina,, director, playwrighter

Olexander Glumov, director and actor of Dnepropetrovsk city puppet theater, artistic director of Theatre plastic forms «QUASAR»

The first collection of modern Ukrainian drama “Maidan. Before and after” with plays thematically linked with the Revolution of Dignity came out in Kiev.

The collection, composed by the dramaturgical department of the Les Kurbas State Centre, includes nine plays chronologically grouped into the following sections – “Forerunner”, “Maidan” and “The War”. The play “Detalization” is included in the “Forerunner” section, because it was written before the revolutionary events, although it had anticipated them in many ways.

On February 17 and 18, the two-year anniversary of the tragic events, the presentation of the anthology for media and for theatre audience took place in Kiev.

While presenting the book, the head of the dramaturgical department of the Les Kurbas Centre Neda Nezhdana noted that the publication came out due to the financial support of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, since as of today there are no programs that support modern Ukrainian drama in the country. “Modern playwrights in Ukraine exist in the role of the opposition, volunteers or the participants of the alternative movements. If we compare the situation in Ukraine with how the modern drama is supported in European countries, and in Russia, it’s worlds different,”- she said.

Speaking about the book, N.Nezhdana emphasized that it includes plays of different genres written by the representatives of different generations who express different perspectives – contrary to the popular belief that one can speak about Maidan only in the language of documentary theatre. In general, she noted, the modern Ukrainian theatre puts on “very few” pieces about Maidan, preferring to entertain the audience. According to her, this is a “betrayal” – with respect to the viewer, and in relation to the essence of the theatre, which, among other things, should serve as “art therapy to society.”

Yaroslav Vereshchak, the head of the Ukrainian Guild of playwrights, while presenting a collection of works, draw attention to D.Ternovyi’s play “Detalization” several times. “I think this is one of the most experimental and one of the most interesting plays of dramaturgical modern times. The fact we don’t know anything about it from mass-media, and the fact it hasn’t been subjected to the theatre study analysis shows that, our theatre critics together with our theatre successfully passed away. I would really like this play to be staged in Kyiv, in this sleepy, quiet, Philistine city”, – he said.

The authors of the plays included in the anthology “Maidan. Before and after” published by the publishing house “Svit znan’” are Jaroslav Vereshchak, Alexander Viter, Oleg Mikolaichuk-Nizovets, Nadezhda Marchuk, Neda Nezhdana, Nadezhda Simchich, Ksenia Skorik, Dmitro Ternovyi. Some of the plays before having been published in Ukraine had won prestigious competitions; they’d been also published and staged in other countries.

“Detalization”, written in 2012 by the co-founder and the actor of the Kharkiv “Theatre na Zhukah” Dmitro Ternovyi in Russian, first published in Ukrainian translation (made by Svetlana Timchenko, the actress of the theatre). Previously, this work was published only in German in Austria and Germany (in translation of Lydia Nagel). At year-end 2012 the play won the main dramaturgical competition in Eastern Europe “Talking about borders. Living in times of social change.” In 2014 it was staged in Baden State Theatre in Karlsruhe. It’s been also translated into Polish, the French translation is on its way.

The German actor and director André Erlen will show in Kharkov and Dnepropetrovsk the performance “Scenario”, which has a long theatrical history and has been played more than 1500 times since 1976.

The full title of the play – “Scenario for a Non-Existent but Possible Instrumental Actor “. This project was created as “music for the one-man show” by the playwright and composer Bohuslav Schaeffer for the famous Polish actor Jan Peszek.

The performance was highly appreciated by critics and audience, and received the Grand Prix at the theatre festival in New York in 1995.

Eventually Jan Peszek turned over this staging to his disciple André Erlen.

The work is based on reflections on the state of contemporary art.The starting point for it was the essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”. It was written by the avant-garde theorist Walter Benjamin and refers to the devastating impact of technology on art and the erosion of the ritual aspect of creativity.

André Erlen says that when he first saw this production, he was mesmerized by it: “The play of Peszek in “Scenario” struck me incredibly hard, I could not recover from the depth, which was hidden behind his virtuosic buffoonery. Eventually, following the tradition of Japanese theatre, Jan gave me his role of “instrumental actor”, including his most important feelings, and his credo of work.”

The arrival of André Erlen in Ukraine is a part of the “Theatrical Window to Europe”, started by “Theatre na Zhukah” in 2011. This project is supported by the Consulate General of Germany in Dnepropetrovsk under the Weeks of German Culture in Ukraine.

In Kharkov, the performance will take place on October 6 at 20.00 at the “Theatre na Zhukah”, in Dnepropetrovsk on 9 October at 19.00 in ArtKvartira.

André Erlen graduated from the Academy of Arts in Dusseldorf, has completed a series of educational programs in Polish theatre centers in Krakow and Gardzienice. He is the co-organizer and the director of the theatre Futur3 (Cologne), he also participated as an actor and director in dozens of theatre projects in different European countries, and has given master classes in Germany, the USA and Israel.