'A MOTHER’SHEART: children keep all our tears' is a poignant performance about the tragedy of mothers whose children are on the front line. The storyline of the performance revolves around a woman's memories of love, birth, childhood, and the anticipation of what may not happen because of the war.
This moving production directed by Vlad Troitskyiis the result of a collaboration between CCA Dakh/Gogolfest and Neues Schauspiel Lüneburg, and premiered on 14 April at Theater an der Ilmenau in Uelzen.
The story combines three time dimensions: past, present, and the possible happy future. However, there is another side of reality and a key question: "What if he never comes back?". Realising the cyclical nature of events and life, the woman is almost ready to accept her reality but allows herself to live in a moment of hope for the last time and shares it with the audience. The performance immerses us in the state of a person living in a world of uncertainty and helplessness, but who can also find strength in the shared experience of grief.
An important part of the performance is a visual sequence that is transformed live on stage. The animation reflects moments from the heroine's life that are significant to the story, as well as excerpts that reflect the horrors of a full-scale invasion. A visual component is a form of the heroine's imaginary world, memories, and hope, which is brutally shattered by the reality of the present. This is a sensual story of a mother who is in memory of her son in peacetime and in fear of a possible future attack that will change their life.
The performance is based on personal texts written by Ukrainian mothers to their sons during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including letters from women in a bomb shelter in Mariupol and a woman from Lviv whose two sons died on the front line. These texts are supplemented by dramatic texts.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been going on for more than a year. Ukrainian artists continue to fight on possible European platforms. At the Asphalt Festival in Düsseldorf, CCA DAKH will present a documentary and musical performance “Dance Macabre” by the freak-cabaret Dakh Daughters, and a visual installation “Zero Tolerance”, which includes video and photo works by Ukrainian artists who fixed or reflected on the horrific events of the war in Ukraine.
Dates:
Danse Macabre: 29.06 20.00 / 30.06 19:30
Zero Tolerance: 21.06-02.07 [detailed schedule on the web page]
Director: Vladyslav Troitskyi
Actress: Tetiana Troitska
Composer: Yana Shliabanska
Vocal: Mariana Golovko
Voices: Julia v. Thoen, Thomas Flocken,
Ensemble Schauspielkollektiv
Animation: Sofiia Melnyk
Dramaturgy and production management:
Julia v. Thoen, Thomas Flocken
Stage design: Igor Frank / Matthias Riske
Artist of art objects: Daria Alyoshkina
Video: Mariia Yakovenko
Sound: Anton Ocheretianyi
Light: Astkhik Hryhorian
Curator: Andrii Palatnyi
Project manager: Katherina Vasiliadis
Coordinator: Viktoriia Fedoriv
Web design: Alina Danylova
