Sputnik is delighted to have been part of discussions with a large group of theatre-makers in the UK and worldwide who stand in solidarity with Ukraine and say ‘No to War’.
The Ukrainian playwright Andryi Bondarenko (Андрій Бондаренко) has been commissioned by Sputnik to write a new play ‘Мир і спокій’ (War and Peace), for inclusion in the co-ordinated project of performances later this year (details tbc):
“The Theater of Playwrights in Kyiv was supposed to have opened its doors on March 1, 2022. But Russia invaded Ukraine and virtually all of the 24 playwrights connected with the theater either took up weapons to defend their nation, or became refugees escaping the fighting. All of the short plays that had been written for performance on opening day have been discarded by artistic director and famed playwright Maksym Kurochkin, because, he writes, “they now belong to another era. We may return to them after we win the war, but for now, we have set them all aside.” The Worldwide Readings Project, working with CITD and Sputnik Theatre Company in London, have raised money to commission new short plays from ToP’s stable of writers, ones that will reflect the reality of life in Ukraine since the beginning of the war. These plays will be made available for readings and performances by any of the the international organizations – theaters, acting groups, universities, etc. – that are partnering with Worldwide Readings Project to present Ukrainian drama to the world. There are currently approximately 70 readings in the works, while new theaters join virtually every day.”
