PROJECT PAGE
2026-27
Writer:
Olha Bohachevska
Direction:
Olenka Vakhramieieva, Richard Pettifer
An anti-biopic about the Woman that lives forever.
Toteatr Kyiv: Co-production
Les Kurbas Centre Kyiv: Presentation in Kyiv.
Goethe Institute/Artists at Risk – Funding and organisational support (Goethe Matching Portal 2024)
Zusa/mitOst E.v., OnEquals Kyiv, YURBA Kyiv – Event organiation of “Take Your Place” for Culture Helps funding stream 2024
Public in Private Studio (space)
Flutgraben e.V. (publicity, advertising)
Cours Florent Drama school (rehearsal space)
Cultural Workers Studio (administration and production
Cultural Heritage
A love/hate relationship with her representation in Ukrainian schools – despite finding her poetry, plays and feminist activism a source of inspiration
A Dialogue
The play began with a 2023 dialogue between Ukrainian/German writer-actor Olha Bohachevska and Australian/German director Richard Pettifer
Formal innovation
The play will present an innovative, text, music, and movement-based performance about one of Ukraine‘s classic writers to deconstruct the post-Soviet canoniation as a sick yet unbreakable poet
A 2024 Public Reading…
A public reading of the play was staged on Feb. 25, 2024, with a cast of five female performers. This reading showed the intensive initial period of research and development undertaken by Bohachevska and the team
Empowerment
Ukrainka’s is a story of women‘s empowerment under the circumstances of colonialism, gender inequality, disability, and medical violence – contemporary themes relevant in both Ukrainian and German contexts.
Partnership/Methodology
Our methodology combines the skills of each team, and consists of two equal parts: three female actors, one musical producer and one co-director from each team, writer and dramaturgy from Flutgraben, scenography from TOTEATR
Development History:
After meeting the Kyiv-based contemporary director Olena Vakharameyeva, the idea arose to co-direct the play together with Pettifer, using text Bohachevska developed on residency through the Goethe Matching Portal with Pettifer at Flutgraben in 2023-24.
Research
- For our research, we purchased several cultural studies about the writer. With the help of Hanna Liashenko we were able to collect and classify sources about her, consisting of books, articles, podcasts. Richard Pettifer translated into English several of her poems. And the singer Daryna Degtyaryova created music for them. .
Heroic image
- As the head of the project, I proposed to write a play in five parts. We examine the stereotypical heroic image of Lesya Ukrainka taught in schools, the dehumanization of women in the medical system, the evaluation of women in society, and how to be a woman in literature. In the last part we look at her and Ukrainian culture from the perspective of postcolonial studies.
Public Reading
- Therefore we made a public reading of the play, involving two other actresses, Kira Napodolska and Nastia Dunayeva. After several rehearsals under the direction of Richard Pettifer we presented the play “Unreal story of Lesya Ukrainka” at the Am Flutgraben on 25 February, the writer’s birthday.
Feedback
- A public reading of the play was staged on Feb. 25, 2024, with a cast of five female performers. This reading showed the intensive initial period of research and development undertaken by Bohachevska and the team. The reading and international audience feedback in Berlin showed the possibility of bringing the play to a Ukrainian-German context.
“TEACHER: Here is the correct life story of Lesya Ukrainka. As you can see, she was born in 1971 –
STUDENT: (quietly) 1871…”
The UnReal Story of Lesya Ukraїnka
Partners:
Flutgraben e.V.
TOTEATR Kyiv
Public in Private
Goethe Institute Matching Portal
Artists at Risk
Cultural Workers Studio