Two Ukrainian Plays, Finborough Theatre, review: Haunting tales from Ukraine
Some proceeds from Two Ukrainian Plays are donated toThe Voices of Children Charitable Foundation, a Ukrainian charity that provides urgently needed psychological and psychosocial support to children affected by the war in Ukraine. You can donate using this link above.
The capital’s artistic organisations have been collaborating, producing and devising Ukrainian-themed work ever since Russia made their invasion. There’s even a new Ukrainian restaurant on the way from one of the country’s top TV chefs. Being in the UK generates more money for the war effort than staying at home, head chef Yurri told City PM, and it’s a similar principle with supporting local theatre: proceeds from Two Ukrainian Plays are going to organisations supporting the war effort.
Amanda Ryan gives a convincing portrayal of grief: a contradictory mix of drinking, denial and acceptance.
There are laughs entangled with the solemn moments, which take on extra gravity given the persistence of the current tragic Ukrainian news cycle. The first play, Take The Rubbish Out Sasha, by Natal’ya Vorozhbit, is a sublime drama examining feelings of familial loss after a Ukrainian army colonel is killed. It’s a strong script, well acted, telling a straightforward but affecting tale about the collateral damage of war: those that are left behind at home.
Amanda Ryan is particularly compelling as the widow, where she gives a convincing portrayal of grief: a contradictory mix of drinking, denial and acceptance. Sound familiar? She has a particular warmth with her co-star, Issy Knowles, the step-daughter of the late colonel. Together the duo manage to convey levity in the darkness, with a couple of genuinely funny scenes: they do a fine job of showing how even deep grief must let up for a moment.
This is the first time the second play, a one-woman piece entitled Pussycat In Memories of Darkness, has been staged outside of Ukraine. In Neda Nezhdana piece an unnamed woman called “She” has lost her family and her home, and clings to a box of cats she keeps on the street. Kristin Milward energetically hauls herself around the stage for an hour as she delivers Nezhdana’s densely passionate text, stuffed with arresting facts about the injustices “She” has experienced as a result of Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the Donbas region in 2014. It’s emotive stuff, although the end product felt hammier to me than I assume it was meant to.
As new writing edges its way to London theatres responding to this current Ukrainian crisis, these plays, both set around the unrest in 2014, show that tragically, when it comes to oppression and violence, Ukraine has seen it all before.
Two Ukrainian Plays is on at the Finborough Theatre until 3 September