Vertep`s chest from the performance Ukrainian vertep

In 1992, the premiere of the play Ukrainian vertep took place at the Kyiv City Puppet Theater (now - the Kyiv Municipal Academic Puppet Theater). The director was Sergey Efremov, the artist - Iryna Uvarova. The text of the oldest vertep of Sokyrynci was taken as a basis. The music was also authentic - carols and church singing. The initiator of the play was actor Volodymyr Zavalnyuk, who played in the vertep. The artist I. Uvarova in the book "Vertep: The Mystery of Christmas" writes about the ritual, sacred content of the play. She first became acquainted with the vertep during a trip to the village of Gorodzhiv in the 1960s. The symbolism of the village can be traced in the design of the nativity scene. The box is painted in blue, as painted village stools, it has a door, like a peasant's closet. The village saved the elements of the vertep from forgetting, so the closed door symbolizes secrecy. In addition to the two traditional floors, at the bottom of the vertep is the "hell", where the soul of the child killer Herod will burn forever. Another feature - on the roof of the vertep is a gatehouse for the star, painted in blue and pasted with silver stars cut out of foil. Uvarova learned to cut figurines out of foil from packages of Indian tea during a trip to the village of Gorodzhiv. Foil is traditionally pasted on a cardboard Christmas star.