Category: News

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.

The famous Ukrainian singer and composer Mariana Sadovskaya and the German director André Erlen began a tour across Ukraine. They will conduct master classes in acting, teaching the students of theatre schools in Lvov, Kiev, Kharkov and Dnepropetrovsk.

During the classes, students learn to work with dramatic texts as with music, exploring how stage action can emerge from the sound and singing.

“André and Mariana represent one more European theatre direction – the musical theatre. At the trainings they give basic skills. I think that meeting with such masters will become a memory of a lifetime, “- said the producer of the “Theatre na Zhukah” and the curator of the project “Theatrical window to Europe” Dmytro Ternovyi.

The project is taking place as a part of the Weeks of German Culture in Ukraine, with the support of the Consulate General of Germany in Dnepropetrovsk and German fund DAAD, which sponsors educational programs.

During the trip, Mariana Sadovskaya will also perform in Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkov for the first time, and André Erlen will play the solo performance “Scenario” in these cities.

On 28 and 29 September the master classes for students of the theatre department of Lviv National University took place. On October 1 the trainings will begin in Kiev.

Tommy Lexen, the founder of the London BeFrank Theatre, will tell about his method of working with documentary material and will conduct the trainings in Kharkov, Lviv and Kiev.

He’ll stay in Ukraine from 26 September to 7 October in the framework of the program of Kharkiv Theatre na Zhukah “Theatrical Window to Europe”. The project is supported by the European program TANDEM “Dialogue for change”.

The producer of “Theatre na Zhukah” and the curator of the program “Theatrical window to Europe” Dmitry Ternovoy believes that nowadays the audience for the documentary theatre has formed in Ukraine.

“Society has changed dramatically, and, I think, today there are quite a lot of people who would like to see in the theatre performances that reflect real events. But the theatres often lack knowledge of how to make such stagings. I think the trainings will give some impetus to the students to take up the documentary genre more seriously, “- he said.

Last April in London, BeFrank Theatre put on stage the play “The Point of No Return” about the February events on the Maidan. Tommy Lexen had worked on it for over a year, and it was praised by the critics and the audience. The British director said that he is happy to share his experience with Ukrainian students.

“We strive to make an honest theatre based on real-life stories, and I think that Ukrainians will benefit much from learning about our way of working,” – he said.

Apart from the trainings for the students, the joint sessions for exchanging experience with the local theatres are also planned in all the cities: with “Theatre na Zhukah” in Kharkov, theatre “Peretvorennya” in Kiev and the Les Kurbas Theatre in Lviv. The Swedish actress of Ukrainian origin Svetlana Beeba, who was the director of stage movement in the play “The Point of No Return”, will be helping Tommy Leksen.

In 2011 Theatre na Zhukah launched the educational project for students of theatre schools ‘Theatrical Window to Europe”. The directors of Western theatres conduct the master classes for Ukrainian students. Previously, students were introduced to the methods of work of contemporary Polish theater, a traditional French commedia dell’arte, and to the Georgian dance.

The TANDEM program “Dialogue for change” is implemented in the framework of public initiatives of MitOst and UNAEDI. It is designed to support cross-border cooperation and cultural development of civil society.

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.

“Theatre na Zhukah” on the occasion of its birthday releases a new show – “The Mad Day” based on the classic French comedy written by Beaumarchais – “The Marriage of Figaro”.

“Once we had removed from the repertoire the romantic comedy “Twelfth Night”, based on the namesake play by Shakespeare, we missed having the easy and fun play. We started to work on Beaumarchais’ play over a year ago, even before all the political turmoil. Working on the show helped us, at least during rehearsals, to turn ourselves off from this wave. We hope that our performance for the audience will be an excellent opportunity to relax, to spend a nice theatrical evening and to fill oneself with positive emotions”,- said the director and artistic director of the theatre Olga Ternova.

She also noted that she still tends to not repeat genres of plays, enabling actors to learn something new, so “The Mad Day” is made in the spirit of eccentric comedy.

The performance comes out on the occasion of the birthday of “Theatre na Zhukah” (which is on December 16). The first private showing of the comedy took place on Sunday, December 14. It received the warmest response from the audience. On December 21, the theatre will mark its seventh anniversary with “The Mad Day”, inviting its closest friends to see the show and a traditional skit. And since January, after the Christmas holidays, “Zhuki” will start to show “The Mad Day” for a wide range of audience as a repertory performance.

“The Mad Day, or The Marriage of Figaro”, written by Beaumarchais, is one of the most famous classic comedies in the world. It was written in 1779 and was soon banned from staging by King Louis XVI, who responded to play with these words: “It’s disgusting, the play will never be shown, this man laughs at all that should be held as sacred in the state.” However, in 1784, the premiere took place with triumph. The story “The Marriage of Figaro” acquired worldwide fame in 1786, when the namesake opera written by Mozart appeared. Beaumarchais wrote that he wanted to create a high sample of the comedy, as opposed to boring plays that repel the viewer from the theatre, making him to “rush to the boulevards, to the stinking gathering of booths, where decent freedom, banished from the theater, turns into a unbridled licentiousness, where young adults acquire some senseless rudeness, and where it loses taste to all decent things, along with the moral feeling.”