What are we going to do about/with/for theatre in Ukraine

I called this session to learn more from others prior to my returning to Kyiv tomorrow (4th May) for my 2nd visit to see theatre and meet the performing arts and cultural community.  In February I met 60 folk in Kyiv and Lviv, saw loads of theatre, and ran a couple of drop in workshops for producers and theatremakers. This week I will be attending Kїfest – an inaugural theatre festival around international touring and connection.

The discussion flowed with Bara Norden, Debbie Beeks, Jackson Used, Jo Crowley,  Maryann Wright, Matthew Coulton, Thea Oxbury and Wils Wilson.

Initial discussion, as we got warmed up, was the difficulty in squaring up a love of russian theatre and literature, being unsure of who were Ukrainian writers, whilst honouring that Ukraine was an independent country that had, for to long, been thought of as ‘the’ Ukraine – almost as a province not a Country.  [For these notes, in respect to a quiet protest, I will carefully use lower and upper case to show my support for Ukraine – Slava Ukraini]

Action: To try and find/encourage the creation of a Ukrainian invention tea towel (or equiv) as you get in tourist shops across Scotland celebrating the invention of tarmac etc.

There were great ideas of where gatherings of Ukrainians in the UK might be engaged, and might be already involved in the arts. Here’s a few from my notes [Please add more in the comments]

·       Charlbury nr Chipping Norton has the highest % of Ukrainians living – and it has a great Ukrainian knitting group too.

·       John Farndon is leading in the gathering and creation of Ukrainian contemporary plays in translation, and his monthly Nights4Ukraine – next one 17th May https://www.facebook.com/john.freedman.37/posts/john-farndons-nights4ukraine-series-returns-may-17-london/10232337290639173/

·       Check out Olga Braga who had a play at Theatre503 and is Ukrainian/Moldovan.

·       The Arcola Unbroken Ukraine 5 plays was an odd very middle-class-english night with no Ukrainian actors used.  It did feature an amazing musician storyteller Mariia Petrovska performing live on the bandura. Only one play was by a Ukrainian, directed by Victoria Gartner, Three Mates by Natalka Vorozhbyt.

·       Cambridge Junction did a play in conjunction with the Ukrainian studies at Cambridge University led by Maria Montague which then played in Kyiv before the 2nd invasion.

·       Theatre Royal Stratford East is exploring work and connecting with Lisa Spurling would be good.

·       Factory International in Manchester is doing a big Ai Wei Wei retrospective which will feature work he has made from much travelling across Ukraine. [Also mention of Marina Abromovich in Manchester]

·       Oxford now has summer schools in both russian and Ukrainian – Tanya Yurosova and Helen Eastman of Creation Theatre could be good contacts.

·       [Also check out the new swanky Schwarzman Arts Centre in the old Radcliffe Hospital https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/ ]

·       The sadly no longer Total Theatre Awards and Total Theatre worked a lot with the Ukrainian Institute from 2024 supporting independent creative collaborations.

·       Question – Is there a network of Ukrainian arts / companies/ practitioners across Europe – Action – check with Ukrainian Institute who, like the British Council, have a wealth of knowledge.

·       The Jam Factory in Lviv is a music venue which continues to welcome international artists slipping into the country from Krakow/Poland by bus.

·       Two Destination Language, now based in the Scottish borders, has an amazing project https://www.twodestinationlanguage.com/off-stage/hope-ponies which will, after the russians retreat from Ukraine, head to the Country.

·       How can theatre also be peacemaker – what is our role in, eventually, supporting future generational acceptance of russian art and artists alongside, and working with, Ukrainian art and artists.  [In a way that Edinburgh International Festival started in 1947 to bring Germanic music and musicians into the UK, founded by a Jewish émigré from Austria/Germany Rudolf Bing]

·       Could the European Theatre Convention be useful – it is a membership body with funds – The Lyceum Edinburgh and Young Vic were/are members] Are there Ukrainian members ?

The conversation extended to more general questions and reflections:

Exploring playwriting – why is there no play library, as there is a poetry library.

Exploring directing practice across Countries and artforms – why is there not some place where directors could meet and share what they have learned in a way that producers do with Producerspool or through www.producerspersona.com

How about a similar gathering place for writers who come from many nations and linguistic traditions, maybe also working with translators and that craft.

How do creative artists begin to bring together three aspects of their lives – their creativity/craft, their political/global passions or concerns, and their ability to make money & thrive. Too often these three are in silos or even sometimes misaligned.  [Mention was made of Bezda a Romanian British company looking at systems of abuse – politics and theatre as two key strands]

Two questions for exploration: Lee asked what the Improv scene is like in Kyiv and Jackson asked what the Publishing scene for theatre licensing is like in Ukraine – I will explore