A new production by Ivan Sharan, the oldest ballet in the world “The Wayward Daughter” at the National Opera, and “Sanatorium Zone” by Khvylovy: we tell you about the most interesting theater premieres of April.
“The Last Supper without Jesus”
April 1
“The Last Supper Without Jesus” is a play directed by actor Ivan Sharan, created based on interviews with real people. For three months, the performers communicated with real characters, explored their worldview, adopted their manner of speaking and interacting. This is a play about a generation that grew up expecting great love and ended up in a world where they have to be their own messiah. About loneliness at a common table. About faith that is doomed, but can still transform into responsibility.
The production was created verbatim within the cast of “Azhnov School”, which we wrote about recently.
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“Stingy”
April 14, Theater on Podil
To mark the anniversary of actor Alexei Vertinsky, the Young Theater staged Moliere's classic comedy “The Miser.” This is a story about Harpagon, a very stingy rich man who loves no one and nothing but his money. He hides his money in the garden and forces his children to live in poverty. The theater says that Moliere's “The Miser,” as interpreted by French director Christophe Galiot, is a story about how one idea can define a person's life.
“21”
April 18, Veterans Theater
“21” is a documentary play about female resilience and strength. The plot centers on Marina, a volunteer and a military man's wife, who lives with her daughter in the village and is waiting for news from her husband from the front. The play is based on the play of the same name by Olga Murashko, a playwright and the wife of a veteran, written during the Veterans Theater laboratory. The director of the play is Kateryna Vyshneva.
“Former”
April 18, 19, 21, Theater on Podil
“The Former” is a play by contemporary playwright Volodymyr Golosnyak, which in the theater is called a lifelong love story. The play centers on the story of a baker who meets his former love after ten years. The director of the play is Volodymyr Kudlinsky, and the main role in one of the casts is played by Bohdan Benyuk.
“Wild Daughter”
April 23, National Opera
Recently, an event that can be called historic took place at the National Opera of Ukraine: the ballet considered the oldest in the world's theaters – La Fille mal gardée, or “The Wayward Daughter” – entered the repertoire for the first time. This is a bright, playful love story: at the center of the plot is Lisa, who longs to be with her lover Colas, a young farmer. Her mother, the widow Simone, instead wants to marry her daughter to the naive but wealthy Alan. But Lisa is not one of the submissive: despite strict supervision, she finds a way to meet Colas. The production was directed by the Frenchman Jean-Christophe Lesage – a famous choreographer, tutor and ballet master of the Vienna State Ballet.
“Sanatorium zone”
April 24, Lesya Ukrainka Theater
The Lesia Ukrainka Theater is rehearsing “Sanatorium Zone” by Khvylovy – a 1924 story in which the writer depicted the “sanatorium zone” that post-revolutionary Ukrainian society had become. The events unfold in a closed sanatorium, where former revolutionaries, ordinary people, and undercover secret police officers coexist. The space that was supposed to treat is transformed into a place of control and isolation. Barbed wire, a regime, and constant surveillance make the sanatorium a model of a state – cold and ruthless.
The director of the production is Dmytro Zakhozhenko.