It is said that Inter arma silent musae. But is this really so? Ukrainian artists found themselves in a very difficult situation due to the Russian aggression. We watch the news from the battlefield with horror, and we simply do not hear the artists who are at war. They have lost their audience at home and their voices do not reach us. 

Together with other European cultural organizations, we joined forces with our partner the art centre Jam Factory in L'viv. Its director, Bozhena Zakalyuzhna, invited several Ukrainian writers and playwrights to create new texts that would report on "ordinary lives" in the battered country. 

For the Akcent Festival, we selected a text by young Ukrainian writer Anastasiia Kosodii. 

Eight Short Compositions from the Lives of Ukrainians for a Western Audience is a powerful emotional statement that has a modern form and at the same time deep roots in the Ukrainian cultural tradition. 

For the presentation of this text, Archa chose a very modest production format, so that the stories could be heard on their own right. 

Original text by Anastasiia Kosodii is projected during the performance in Czech and English.

The scenic reading is followed by a debate with the author Anastasiia Kosidii, theatre director and author of the concept Jana Svobodová, creative team and the audience. The debate will be moderated by Henk Keizer.

Henk Keizer is a Dutch expert on site- and social-specific arts and a promoter of participative and collaborative art practices, especially in rural areas. Recently he initiated a new network called A.R.E.A.; Arts in Rural European Areas. Many Ukrainian people found a save place in rural areas. AREA members decided to cooperate with The Jam Factory in Lviv. Anastasiia Kosodiy’s work called “ 8 Short Compositions“ is besides the Archa Theatre in Prague presented in Denmark, the Netherlands and UK, Sweden and other countries will follow. Henk works in the Danish countryside, relates to Elefsina 2023 and gives lectures at the Archa Theatre Summer School. www.network-area.eu

Credits

Text: Anastasiia Kosodii 
Scenic concept: Jana Svobodová 
Co-created and presented on stage by: Sofia Velez, Mariia Kosiichuk, Lotta Karlsonn, Rosa Berman, Amanda Doherty 
Light design: Pavel Kotlík 
Music: Lotta Karlsonn
Assistant director, production: Romana Sekáčová 
English translation: Pavlo Hrytsak 
Czech translation: Miroslav Tomek

The text was created with the support of the Jam Factory Art Center, Lviv as part of the "Untitled Document" theater project. 

Jam Factory Art Center 
https://jamfactory.ua/