Review: Mariupol Drama at HOME is ‘a harrowing tale of survival, defiance and hope’

Imagine this scenario, your country is being invaded and you seek solace in a local theatre like HOME. You share this space with 1,000 people and you cook there, kids do their homework, local people arrive with pets and a few belongings and as the bombing intensifies, you worry that if you close your over tired eyes, it might be for the last time.

Mariupol Drama explores this but it is not a fictional paragraph in a review, it is based on the real experiences of a Ukrainian theatre company. It is being staged at HOME and prior to this it has been seen and performed in Uzhhorod and Kyiv.

Mariupol Drama at HOME

Writer Oleksandr Gavrosh has gathered first hand accounts from people who were there and survived the bombing, and members of the Mariupol Theatre company stand on the stage recounting what they saw and how they felt, and this places you in this beautiful city whilst it is under siege.

This is a difficult play to watch and it needs to be, as it has to provoke a reaction, in order for peace to take place. We see mobile phone footage of life before the invasion, and this is something you rarely see on the evening news. You see a city like Sheffield or Manchester and begin to imagine how you would feel, if everything you knew was gone and fear and anxiety replaced your usual optimism.

You also feel guilty for moans and gripes you may have midway through January, as the performers that stand on this stage have lost everything but they continue to tell their story, as they retain the hope that one day they can return to the place they call home. In just 60 minutes, you go through a gamut of feelings and responses.

“It highlights the human cost of war”

Olena Bila and Ihor Kytrysh and their son Matvii recount their experiences and imbue the piece with so much raw emotion, that it highlights the human cost of a war that no-one in Ukraine asked for. We often hear about the casualties and within a news headline, they are reduced to numbers, not people. But here, you see how living as a survivor means that you will never forget what you saw. Vira Lebedynska, the company’s head of drama also brings first hand experience, as she remembers that feeling of standing still and not wanting to flee. And how that can lead to your demise, as you sit in denial that your city is being invaded.

We have all seen films and plays which revisit times of war and hearing from survivors is deeply affecting. Each time, we say this must never happen again. The Mariupol Drama Theatre was bombed in March 2022 and members of the company who stand before you are refugees in their own country. This is not a museum piece, or a continuing drama, it has not stopped as the war continues.

A subtitled performance

The piece is performed in Ukranian and subtitles are provided in white text on a black background. They are not the easiest to read and there are times, where they are scrolled so fast, that you might miss a line or two.

David MacCreedy is a British actor who has lived in Tameside, Greater Manchester for almost 30 years. And after seeing footage of the war n Ukraine he wanted to help. He began to help via a facebook page, asking for donations to help people. E then visited Ukraine and met Olena who told him about this play. We have him to thank that this raw and uncompromising story is now being staged in Manchester.

This is a moving, defiant and incredibly affecting production. You feel the anger, the loss and confusion as to why this war is taking place. And having a child’s eye view of the conflict via Matvii is poignant and remains with you, as you leave the theatre.

And that is the key, at the end of the evening I left the theatre. Hundreds of people entered the Donetsk theatre in Mariupol seeking salvation and a sign bearing the word “children” was marked on the ground and this was visible form the air. On 16th March 2022 the building was bombed and 300 people are said to have died although some estimates are higher.

Tickets for Mariupol Drama at HOME

Mariupol Drama is at HOME until 18^th January and can be booked here