Theatre of War
Date and time:
Tuesday 12 July, 2022
19:00 - 20:30
Location:
Camden People’s Theatre
58-60 Hampstead Rd
London
NW1 2PY
Ukrainian writers have been working across literary genres to reimagine the country’s cultural narratives and establish new languages of self-determination. Reflecting on the possibilities of storytelling as a mode of civic engagement, our speakers will share a selection from key works from Ukraine’s recent repertoire of dramatic literature, poetry, and prose. The readings will be followed by discussion of the role literature plays in light of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Readings include:
Skin Deep by playwright Nataliia Blok (Kherson), translated by Keren Klimovsky, and read by Molly Flynn, specialist on contemporary Ukrainian theatre (London)
Poems by Ukrainian poet Iryna Shuvalova (Kyiv/Nanjing), translated by Uilleam Blacker, read by Maria Montague, deputy director of Ukrainian Institute London
A Loss: The Story of a Dead Soldier Told by His Sister by Olesya Khromeychuk, read by author Khromeychuk, director of Ukrainian Institute London
All proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Ukrainian Institute London’s programmes to support displaced Ukrainians. If you are able to donate more than £10 please support our crowdfunder here.
This event is co-organized by Ukrainian Institute London, Birkbeck Centre for Contemporary Theatre, and Camden People’s Theatre.
We are offering free tickets for displaced Ukrainians for this event. Please email info@ukrainianinstitute.org.uk to reserve.
Speaker
Molly Flynn
Molly Flynn is a Lecturer in Theatre and Performance at Birkbeck, University of London. Her current research analyses theatre in Ukraine since 2013. Her book Witness Onstage: Documentary Theatre in Twenty-First Century Russia was published by Manchester University Press in 2020. Alongside her work as a lecturer and a researcher, Molly is also a translator, producer, and theatre-maker. She is a co-founder of the US-based experimental theatre collective the New York Neo-Futurists.
Speaker
Olesya Khromeychuk
Olesya Khromeychuk the Director of the Ukrainian Institute London and a historian of 20th century East-Central Europe. Olesya also runs a theatre company, Molodyi Teatr London, that stages documentary pieces exploring urgent social and political themes. Molodyi’s most recent production was All That Remains, a true story of loss and memory from the war in Ukraine, written and directed by Olesya. This production toured London, Bristol and Edinburgh. In 2021, Olesya published her book A Loss. The Story of a Dead Soldier Told by His Sister (Stuttgart: ibidem, 2021), which further explores the loss of her brother who was killed at the frontline in 2017 while serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Speaker
Maria Montague
Maria Montague is the Deputy Director of the Ukrainian Institute London. She studied Ukrainian literature as part of her BA in languages, and went on to do a Master’s researching the Ukrainian theatre director Les Kurbas. Maria has worked on various theatre projects, including the English-language premiere of Maklena Grasa by Mykola Kulish, which had a UK tour in 2018, funded by Arts Council England. Maria was the translator and director of this production, which she staged with the theatre company she co-founded, Night Train. In 2019, Maria co-produced the international theatre festival Kulish. Kurbas. Shakespeare in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Maria has also worked in international relations and research, with a particular focus on Ukraine, both at the Chatham House Ukraine Forum and the Arena Programme at LSE and Johns Hopkins University.
