Lesya Ukrainka & Theater

Lesya Ukrainka's dramatic legacy includes more than two dozen works, and more than half a dozen unfulfilled dramatic plans. Lesya Ukrainka began writing plays as a well-known poetess. 

The arrival of the poetess to drama, as Lina Kostenko writes, was quite natural: 
"She knew well, deeply understood the nature of this art. And most importantly - she had that rare gift - a vocation to drama."

 She abandoned ethnographic-domestic and national-romantic themes, created a modern drama of great philosophical generalizations ("Obsession", "Cassandra", "Forest Song", "Orgy", etc.). The first dramatic work "Blue Rose" immediately put her on the level with еuropean writers.

The Young Theater was the first to address the dramatic poem "In the Forest".

In 1918, the play was staged by Les Kurbas, who was attracted by the theme of the artist and society. The drama told the story of the life of sculptor Richard Iron (played by Les Kurbas himself).

"Forest Song" is a drama that is most often used by theaters. It is rich in opportunities for stage interpretations, directorial decisions, acting improvisations.

"Her costume seemed to consist of her own long hair, in which she was immersed. All her movements were extremely plastic. It was a real fairy-tale rusalka. And the silver notes of her special laughter! 

contemptuous, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes angry or naively childish. On the performance of "The Forest Song" in the evening in 1918, applause erupted every time after the laughter of the Rusalka - Hakkebush. "

Lesya Ukrainka’s play “Forest Song” was to be staged at the Mykola Sadovsky Theater. In 1912 Ivan Buryachok became the main artist of the theater, and in 1911 Lesya Ukrainka gave the artist the opportunity to get acquainted with the manuscript of the “Forest Song”  .

He creates a graphic series of costumes for the characters of the play, in particular:  Mavka, a forest nymph,  Forest Elf, a woodland sprite, Kutz, a malicious imp.

One of the founders of the theater, Yevhen Kokhanenko, staged  “Forest Song”  on the stage of the Ivan Franko Theater in 1922, the artist was Matviy Drak.

In the role of Kutz, a malicious imp - actor Mykhailo Pylypenko, Mavka, a forest nymph — Feodosiya Barvinska, Lukash — Tykhon Ternychenko, Perelesnyk, an evil fire spirit - Konstantin Koshevsky.

Two years later, E. Kokhanenko performed another production of "Forest Song", in which the role of the Mavka was played by Polina Nyatko.

First Taras Shevchenko State Theater, Kyiv. 1921

In 1921 in the First Taras Shevchenko State Theater staged " Stone Host" by Lesya Ukrainka. This is her interpretation of the world story about Don Juan.

The director of this play was Oleksandr Zagarov, the artist Anatolii Petritsky.

The museum's collection contains sketches by Anatolii Petrytsky - costumes and decorations for the play.

The space of action is filled with symbolic symbols (artist Myron Kyprian), its musical atmosphere (composer B. Yanivsky) saturated with musical sound and served as a background for the unfolding of episodes-compositions.

The design created by M. Kyprian by figurative solution was both a generalized expression of a fireplace vault, a medieval palace, and an imaginary mountain - the proud dream of Donna Anna.

Throughout the play, the characters "overcome" its various planes, each time appearing under the gaze of an ironically grinning huge stone mask hanging over the stage.

In the First Taras Shevchenko State Theater in Kyiv were staged performances of "Babylonian Captivity", "On the ruins", "In the field of blood", "In the catacombs", "In the work house, in the land of slavery". Director Oleksandr Zagarov, artist - Anatolii Petritsky.

The next two short plays are a kind of diptych, also on a biblical (but Old Testament) theme - "Babylonian Captivity" ("dramatic poem", 1903) and "On the ruins" ("dramatic poem", 1904).

The plots in the diptych are based on the story of the most tragic period in the life of the Jewish people, their struggle for freedom and independence; relevance for Ukraine is still unquestionable. In both plays, the artist's conflict with his surroundings is acute.

The play "In the Catacombs", dedicated to Agatangel Krymsky, and based on apocrypha about the first Christians. The orientalist A. Krymsky was a consultant on this theme.

The sketch "In the workhouse, in the land of slavery" ("dialogue"), dates back to 1906. The thematic material used in it is the history of Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament, 

and the conflict is the opposition of life choices and values lived by the two main characters: a Jewish slave and an Egyptian slave.

Kherson Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater. 1971

The poetess finished the drama "Orgy" in 1913. One of the best stage interpretations was performed at the Ivan Kocherga Zhytomyr Theater in 1961. The director was Leonid Kanevsky with the participation of director Oleksandr Gorbenko.

In 1971, Gobenko staged a play on the stage of the Kherson Music and Drama Theater. Аrtist Volodymyr Balash. Antey - actor D.Korolenko, Nerisa – actress E.Vereshchahina.