The production will run at HOME, Manchester from the 14th to the 18th January.
PW Productions has announced that Ukrainian play Mariupol Drama will have its UK premiere next year.
Written by Oleksandr Gavrosh, the play is a poignant testimony from actors who were sheltering with over 1000 others inside the Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre in Mariupol during the events of March 2022, when Russian forces invaded the city and bombed the theatre.
With direction and music design by Ukraine Artist Yevhen Tyshchuk, the stories of survival are recounted and performed by the theatre’s head of music and drama department Vira Lebedynska, actors Olena Bila and Ihor Kytrysh, and Olena and Ihor’s son Matvii. Personal items they brought to the shelter are integrated into the production, along with video footage captured on their phones.
Talking about the news, actor Olena Bila said, “Mariupol Drama is an account of our creative life in the city of Mariupol, and the cultural development of the city before the full-scale Russian invasion distorted our peaceful life. In bringing it to the UK we hope to convey our personal testimonies about these events, to share a fair and true story of the life of the people of Mariupol, and to say that the city existed, and there was a theatre. Our theatre is alive, our theatre is fighting. It is restored not to cry, but to fight.”
Iain Gillie of PW Productions said, “The actor David MacCreedy came across this play on an aid trip to Ukraine, he asked us if we’d help him get the play to the UK as he felt it needed to be shared with as wide an audience as possible. It’s an incredibly powerful piece and we’re proud to have helped to get it to Manchester.”
To book tickets visit: https://homemcr.org/production/mariupol-drama/