Ukraine, Russian missiles do not stop the theater: in Ivano-Frankivsk they go on stage in the basement

Russian missiles do not stop the theater. It is the story of the Ukrainian National Academy of Dramatic Art, based in the Ivano-Frankivsk theater in the homonymous city in the west of the country near the Carpathians where while the bombings destroyed the Mariupol theater, Nation was staged in the basement, taken from the book by contemporary writer Maria Matios. And tomorrow will be the turn of Romeo and Juliet, “a classic and a tribute to Italy”. Rostyslav Derzhypilskiy, artistic director of Ivano-Frankivsk for over a decade, tells Adnkronos about an artistic choice that has been promoted with flying colors by reviews and the public because “culture gives hope and spiritual strength. The underground has a deep emotional value: it encourages when you hit rock bottom, to push yourself up to win. ” “The choice of Nation yesterday was symbolic: it is a story set during the Soviet invasion of Ukraine. Many spectators are people displaced from other areas of the country because it is safer here, even if the air warnings are continuous – he specifies – We wanted to support them emotionally and doing it in this context has an extra value for them “. There are five performances on the bill: three have already been staged and enthusiastically welcomed by critics and the public; two on the program. “We started with the Aeneid, based on the Ukrainian burlesque poem written by Ivan Kotliarevsky in 1798; then it was the turn of a re-adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, also done in tribute to the English and their help in this war; then the Nation and tomorrow Romeo and Juliet, a classic and a tribute to Italy – he specifies – Finally, the musical Hutsulka Ksenya, staged in this theater 25 times in a row, highly appreciated by our audience and typically Ukrainian “as it combines dances traditional with contemporary choreography. On the other hand, the idiot of Dostoevsky was banned from the bill: “At this moment everything connected with Russia, this bloody country, must be abandoned. I agree with the Italian decision to suspend the cultural programs in synergy with Moscow. All relations with Russia. Russia must be stopped. Of course I was sorry because he is one of my favorite authors but the Russians appropriate the cultural merits of others. I would like to clarify a fact that few people know: Dostoevsky’s father was Ukrainian “. The artistic director concludes: “We are doing all of this to empower our army, support our soldiers, showing them that we also live by keeping culture alive. And we want to show the world that we are a nation strong enough to continue making art even while we are at war “. And before ending the phone call he adds: “It is necessary that in Italy we understand how important it is to support Ukraine. It is difficult for us to accept that there are countries that do not do enough with the swift or other to stop the war. you become responsible “. (by Roberta Lanzara)