Can six actors plus one actor-musician bring to life the huge and complex story that is the struggle for Ukraine? The answer is a resounding yes.
Ukraine Unbroken was conceived by director, Nicolas Kent, renowned for tackling the thorniest political topics, from the Iraq war to the London riots to Britain’s involvement in Afghanistan, to mention only a few.
The 12 years since the Revolution of Dignity in Kyiv’s Maidan square might have been too tragic a story to bear, given the shocking flow of events. Two and a half hours in the raw, crowded space that is the Arcola theatre, might have worn us out.
But no. Each of the plays that form the production is a microcosm of a contrasting moment, revealing how individuals react under the pressure of shocking events. The egalitarian form of ensemble acting favoured by Kent keeps up the suspense and is perfectly suited to its subject.
The scene changes are magical thanks to Mariia Petrovska’s mesmerising voice, floating above the audience, as she accompanies herself on Ukraine’s once-forbidden musical instrument, the bandura. Mariia was 11 years old in 2014 when the capital of Ukraine was occupied by hundreds of thousands of protesters demanding the resignation of pro-Putin president Viktor Yanukovych.
Always, by Johnathan Myerson, opens with nervous exchanges between a couple in a hotel room looking over Kyiv’s Maidan square. Petro (David Michaels) is withholding information from his anxious wife Sofiya (Sally Giles). Below their window their son is taking part in the mass gathering against Yanukovych. There’s a comic moment when Petro tells Sofiya– “I didn’t know you follow politics”. But things quickly turn darker as sniper (Ian Bonar) pulls out his rifle. Sofiya’s final decision regarding her son’s safety gives a play a final twist.
The second play, David Edgar’s Five Day War, is set during Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Aspiring candidates are secretly gathered to rehearse their roles in a Kremlin-imposed government. It’s a brilliant play-within-a play device, exposing Putin’s fabricated mythology, in which Ukraine’s heroic struggle for self-determination is portrayed as a Nazi takeover. The now legendary words, “We are here (ми тут)”, videoed by Zelensky and his cabinet in Maidan, mark a crucial turning point in the play as in life.
Twelve-year-old Yulia (Clara Read) exposes the monstrous lies about Russia’s role by showing an image from the Bucha massacre on her mobile phone. In closing, apparatchik Victor (Ian Bonar) admits that it will not be the promised five day war, but that it will be fought “inch by inch. Smashed building by smashed building. Abandoned village by abandoned village. Dead soldier by dead soldier, dead child by dead child. The iron law of power, force and strength. Until one of us runs out.”
Conscription-avoider Andriy’s rambling soliloquy in a darkened bedroom is the anti-heroic tale of a Ukrainian Everyman, who just wants to live his life. In Three Mates, by Natalka Vorozbhit, Andriy (Ian Bonar) muses next to his sleeping wife, Olga (a silent but expressive Jade Williams). His ramblings are by turn hilarious and tragic: “I’m just an ordinary Kyivan boy. I like football, singing, my family. I really passionately love Kyiv, and my district, and when I look out the window at all those hideous new builds and my own native hills it gives me a hard on, seriously.”
We are taken to the frontline in David Greig’s Wretched Things. Two Ukrainian soldiers (Daniel Betts and Ian Bonar) take cover in a ruined schoolroom. Children’s drawings on the wall and a toy cooker form a poignant backdrop to their camouflage outfits and helmets. They discover a wounded Korean soldier crumpled in a corner. A desperate argument between them and their officer Sarge (a dignified David Michaels) pits democratic principles versus the desire to survive at all costs.
In Cat Goscovitch’s Taken, a mother’s hard-won birthday celebration for her daughter Lilya is interrupted by a Russian soldier, who kidnaps Lilya. Anna’s desperate journey to find Lilya and bring her back home reveals the brainwashing by the Russian authorities, intended to wipe out the child’s Ukrainian identity.
Ukraine Unbroken opens and closes with the predicaments as well as the courage of Ukrainian mothers. The ensemble performances, the gimmick-free set design and sensitive lighting focus the mind on the harsh realities and contradictory reactions to the ongoing conflict.
Ukraine Unbroken – A nation’s fight for freedom is a remarkable and unmissable achievement. Book your tickets now.
Ukraine Unbroken is at the
Arcola Theatre until 28 March
Ukraine Unbroken Production Images – Photos credit by Tristram Kenton
Bring the children home!
Playwright Cat Goscovitch, who wrote Taken, replies to Penny Cole:
Penny: This is an amazing collaborative project / what does it mean to you to be involved?
Cat: In a world where there is so much injustice that we have no control over, it feels good to be part of this collaboration with other creative people, all focused on Ukraine.
Penny: Researching the story of your play must have been painful / what did you take from that process?
Cat: I have a daughter the same age as the girl in the play who is chronically ill with severe Long Covid. Nicholas Kent asked me to use the emotional experience of this in the writing of Taken. I understand the grief of having a child who is alive but unreachable.
Penny: What are your hopes for the future of Ukraine and your fears?
Cat: While working on these plays, I kept hoping they wouldn’t be needed as there would be a peace deal. I kept thinking, if 20,000 children from the UK were kidnapped by Russia, what would the international response be?
I hope that Europe will move further away from the USA and do more to ensure Ukrainian victory. And I hope that there will be an urgency to bring these children back home.