Key players in creating Ukrainian performance
Lesia Ukrainka Theatre is a city theatre in Lviv, located in the historical centre of the city, named after the famous Ukrainian poet and playwright Lesia Ukrainka. Among all the variety of genres of modern theatre, the emphasis is still on drama. The auditorium gathers visitors not only for performances but also for educational lectures, conferences, and cultural exhibitions. In 2017 it gained the status of an academic theatre.
Creator: Olena Kondrashova
The Les Kurbas Theatre was founded in 1988 as the “Lviv Youth Theatre” by Volodymyr Kuchynsky and a troupe of young actors and artists seeking to create a new and challenging arena for theatre practice in the midst of a changing Ukrainian World. The Theatre’s official cultural status was raised to being an “Academic Theatre.” Through all its years, The Les Kurbas Theatre has produced over 50 productions, raised several generations of actors and other thespians, and collaborated with delightfully high-minded partners.
Creator: Olesia Pravdivets
Kyiv Academic Theatre of Drama and Comedy on the left bank of Dnieper
The Kyiv Academic Theatre of Drama and Comedy on the left bank of Dnipro River is the first theatre on the left bank of Kyiv. In its repertoire, the theatre has classical drama performances and performances of original texts on acute social topics.
Creator: Anastasiia Mantach
Kharkiv State Academic Puppet Theatre named after V.A. Afanasiev
Kharkiv State Academic Puppet Theatre, named after V.A. Afanasiev, is the only museum of puppet dolls in Ukraine. It occupies the building of the former commercial bank of Volga-Kama, which was an architectural monument at the beginning of the twentieth century. In the repertoire of the theatre, there are performances for children and adults, and in the collection of the theatrical museum, there are well over 11 thousand copies, which give an idea about the diversity of the puppet world.
Creator: Oleksandr Osipov
The Varta Theatre was born only a month after Eussia’s full-scale invasion, counting an ensemble of 16 actors from all over Ukraine and staging its premiere play, “The First Day of War.” This performance officially debuted the theatre company and gave it the irrefutable slogan, “Guarding Culture.”
All images belong to Varta Theatre
Wild Theatre is one of the most popular independent theatres in Ukraine, founded in February 2016. Provocation, action, and shock are the main tools of interaction. The main vector is searching for actual meanings in the form of radical and immersive theatre.
Creator: Anastasiia Telikova
The Golden Gate is the best chamber theatre in Ukraine which has an active dialogue with the audience and is always on time. The Golden Gate is not only a repertory theatre but also a theatre that works on various social projects, raises acute issues, and does not stand aside from society and its life.
Creator: Anastasiia Mantach
For a theatre that celebrated 80 years in 2019, the National Academic Drama Theatre (Ivano-Frankivsk) boasts a remarkably youthful and energetic troupe and staff—one aching for increased opportunity for innovation. Over the last decade, Rostyslav Derzhypilskiy has served as artistic director of this venue, which seats 900 in its large hall and 50–150 in its small hall. The theatre repertoire strikes a performance balance, featuring everything from treatments of contemporary Ukrainian popular fiction to a shock operatic production of Hamlet to Albert Camus’s Caligula, staged by French director Jules Audre.
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Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre
The Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre in Kyiv was founded in 1920. It rightfully plays an important role in the history of Ukrainian culture. One of the main tasks of the Franko Theatre is to work with the classics. The theatre troupe is considered to be the best in Ukraine.
Creator: Valeriia Landar
20 Ukrainian theatre authors have united to create the Theatre of Playwrights. For them, the focus of the theatre is the text—the starting point and the main value of theatrical work. Tickets sales, grants, and sponsorships all go towards funding the Theatre of Playwrights.
Creator: Artem Galkin
The Theatre on Podil is an example of European theatre where minimalism combines with new technologies. The new scene meets the most up-to-date world requirements. Today, it is the first and only completed project of the modern theatre of independent Ukraine. The room is designed for 253 guests.
Creator: Serhii Havryshkevych
Odesa Ukrainian Vasylko Theatre
The repertoire of the Odesa Ukrainian Vasylko Theatre currently consists of 26 performances, from productions based on Ukrainian classical texts to contemporary drama, which have consistently won top prizes at various international festivals. In addition to performances, the theatre also hosts interviews with celebrities, creative meetings with directors, and press conferences with well-known artists.
Creator: Olena Ksenofontova
The Center of Contemporary Art “DAKH” in Kyiv
The Centre of Contemporary Art “DAKH” in Kyiv was founded by the businessman, Maecenas, producer, director, and actor Vladislav Troitskyi, who became its art head. The centre was opened on November 12, 1994, and gradually turned into a mighty cell of creative experimental activity searching for a dynamic synthesis of different methods of acting and directing. One of the sources from which creative energy and deep thought forms are drawn is an appeal to the Ukrainian musical tradition, an attempt to give new life to its inherent theatricality.
Creator: Mykola Tsymbaliuk
Laboratory of contemporary opera in Kyiv, founded by Ukrainian composers R. Grygoriv and I. Razumeiko
Creator: Valeriya Landar
WE is an independent art project at the intersection of post-documentary theatre and documentaries. With the beginning of Russian aggression, the project committed itself to documenting and covering the story of what is happening in Ukraine..
Creator: Oleksii Panianychka
The association “Contemporary Dance Platform” is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation. It provides a platform for performances by professional choreographers, contemporary dance companies, and amateurs who seek to upgrade their professional skills and are ready to present their works on a professional stage.
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National Union of Theatre Artists of Ukraine
The National Union of Theatre Workers of Ukraine is a national, all-Ukrainian creative union that promotes the development of theatrical art in Ukraine, provides creative and methodological assistance to theatre workers in Ukraine, and provides social protection for its members. The Union cooperates with the administrations of Ukrainian theatres, promotes the development of drama, scenography, acting, and directing, and organises theatrical business.
Hooligan Art Community is an independent theater company founded in Kyiv in 2019. They create performances not only in traditional theater spaces, but also explore the horizontal way of creating theater. The team works in the independent theater sector in Ukraine and consists of artists from Ukraine, Britain, and Germany.
