● Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre, Kyiv, Ukraine
● Tragedy
● William Shakespeare, translated from English intro Ukrainian by Dmytro Pavlychko
● The tragedy “Coriolanus” is a story about a strife between an individual and a society. It’s a keen political drama that feels modern in today’s context, same as it was in a Shakespere’s time. It features unbroken hero and political intrigues, power struggle, public opinion manipulation, betrayal and repentance. The tragedy "Coriolanus" is a story of the rise and fall of the legendary Roman warlord Caius Marcius. After conquering the Volscian city of Corioli he received the byname Coriolanus for military victories.Coriolanus as a champion and a defiant. After returning home the valiant warrior goes to "big" policy – to the consuls of the Roman Republic. But in political battles, the invincible and enduring hero, accustomed to winning the enemies in an open battle, became vulnerable in his strength: the straightforward, frank and uncompromising Coriolanus is not capable of deception and tricks.Humiliated by the rabble and betrayed by comrades, seeking revenge, he joins with and old enemy, and pays for his choice with his life. Athough the creative team tried to avoid modern references or codes, Shakespeare’s text is still relatable and reflects the present day.

Director – Dmytro Bogomazov
Set & costume designer – Petro Bogomazov
Composer – Oleksandr Kokhanovskyi
Choreographer – Oleksii Busko
Sound operator – Pavlo Natalushko
Light operators – Olena Antohina, Pavlo Zhdanov
VJ – Oleksandr Rozhkov
Deputy stage manager – Liana Mykhailova

Caius Marcius, later Coriolanus – Dmytro Rybalevskyi
Volumnia, his mother – Nataliia Sumska
Virgilia, his wife – Anastasia Rula
Menenius Agrippa, patrician – Bogdan Beniuk
Cominius, patrician and general –Oleg Stalchuk
Sicinius Velutus, tribune – Ostap Stupka
Junius Brutus, tribune– Ivan Sharan
Roman senator – Vasyl Mazur
First citizen – Oleksandr Petcherytsia
Second citizen, First aedile, Messenger – Volodymyr Nikolaenko
Third citizen, Second aedile – Pavlo Shpegun
Fourth citizen – Dana Kuz

Roman citizens, Roman soldiers – Oleg Voronko, Dmytro Lukianenko, Mykhailo Matiukhin, Karolina Mruha, Dmytro Yakovenko

Tullus Aufidius, general of the Volscians – Oleksii Bogdanovych
Lieutenant, to Aufidius – Volodymyr Abazopulo
Volscian senator– Arseniy Tymoshenko
Cotus – Dmytro Chernov
First watch – Ivan Zaluskii
Volscian soldiers – Volodymyr Zbarazskyi, Tetyana Kryshtal, Mariia Rudynska, Malvina Khachatryan
Second watch – Khrystyna Fedorak

Servant – Kateryna Artemenko

Who needs a Shakespeare Festival? Beginning with the first European festivals established and the reasons behind these cultural and social events, the talk will ask anew the question ‘who needs a Shakespeare Festival’ and why with reference to the current political context and the devastating war in Ukraine.

An author, translator, philologist, patriarch of Ukrainian postmodernism, and one of the key figures of the so-called Stanislaw phenomenon, Yurii Andrukhovych is one of the most prolific Ukrainian translators of Shakespeare in the first decades of the XXI century (his portfolio includes four plays; hopefully, it will expand). Translations by Andrukhovych are criticised and praised for the same reasons – for their licentiousness, provocativeness, and transgression. Yet, due to their modernised language and theatricality, it is they that are employed for the majority of present-day productions of Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet in Ukraine.
The public interview attempts to find out about Andrukhovych’s attitude toward
Shakespeare, sneak a look into his translator’s laboratory, and outline further directions for the Ukrainian translation Shakespeareana.

● Ivano-Frankivsk National Academic Drama Theater named after Ivan Franko, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine ● Drama ● By V.Shakespeare in the translation of Yurii Andruhovych
● The Danish prince and the entire royal family have long been resting under the weight of centuries. Suddenly, three seductive goddesses of revenge Erinia (borrowed by the director from Shakespeare’s Macbeth) wake Hamlet from eternal sleep and… the space of the dungeon is filled with otherworldly sounds of music and haunted heroes rising from the graves to atone for their sins and finally break the cycle a tragedy in which the human race will perish… Will Prince Hamlet find the right answer to the eternal question this time?

Director - People's Artist of Ukraine, laureate of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine Rostyslav DerzhypilskyiComposers - laureates of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine Roman Hryhoriv, Illia RazumeikoCostume artist - Olesia HolovachPlastic solution - Olha Semioshkina"

Oleksii Hnatkovskyi - HamletOlha Komanovska - GertrudeYurii Khvostenko - ClaudiusPavlo Kilnytskyi - PoloniumIvan Blindar - LaertesIryna Onyshchuk - OpheliaYevhenii Kholodniak - FortinbrasMaria Stopnyk, Nadia Levchenko, Olesia Pasichniak - Erinia Bohdan Romaniuk - YorikVladyslav Demydiuk, Mykola Slyvchuk, Oleh Derkach, Ostap Sloboda - Monks.

The subtitling workshop consists of two parts — theoretical and practical. The first one will be presented by Dr. Sorin Cazacu, lecturer of the University of Craiova (Romania), who will speak about the difference between subtitles for the cinema and theatre. He has extensive translation experience and among others created Romanian subtitles for the Ukrainian TV series “Servant of the People”. Practical aspects and subtitling lifehacks will be shared by Drs Yevheniia Kanchura and Nataliia Krynytska. Participants will be able to try their hand at subtitling. Languages of the workshop: English and Ukrainian.

Panelists: Dr. Ema Vyroubalova (Shakespeare scholar, Assistant Professor, School of English, The University of Dublin, Ireland), Dr. Anna Kowalche-Pawlik (Shakespeare scholar, Assistant Professor, Department of American Studies and Mass Media, The University of Lodz, Poland), Dr. Georgi Niagolov (Shakespeare scholar, Assistant Professor, Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures at New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria), MPh Javor Gardev (theatre and film director, Ivan Vazov National Theatre, Bulgaria).

The event is dedicated to such an important aspect of translating drama as theatricality. The dual nature of a dramatic text also determines a kind of duality of approaches to translation – for the page and for the stage. The panelists will discuss the criteria of theatricality of translations of Shakespeare’s works into different languages, the motives behind the theaters’ choice of certain translations for production, and the reasons why certain translations never reach the stage.

This binary lecture will discuss the coexistence of two traditions of translation of Shakespeare's dramatic works in the Ukrainian cultural space: one designed for reading and the other for stage performance. In recent decades, there has been a significant expansion in the understanding of the essence of translation as a concept. When talking about contemporary translational interpretations of Shakespeare's plays, it is reasonable to use the term "tradaptation." This is a novel form of translation that refracts the traditional perception of the original in the light of postmodern artistic thinking and is characterised by both respect for the original and bold adaptation. Unlike an academic translation for reading, tradaptation offers a unique pleasure in recognising "one's own" in the mirror of Shakespeare's works.
The lecturers will illustrate tradaptation with reference to the works of Yuri Andrukhovych and other Ukrainian translators, and will consider the productivity of such translations, whether published or staged, in the context of post-translation studies.

● Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Institute of Arts, Department of Performing Arts and Choreography ● Comedy ● A date with Shakespeare, where in Twelfth Night the Two of Verona met to Tame the Wicked One and realised that it was all a Comedy of Errors arranged by the Winsorian jesters... Accompanied by a live student orchestra in the Shakespeare space of the Frankivsk Drama Theatre.

Course directors: Rostyslav Derzhypilskyi, Nadiia Levchenko.

The Taming of the ShrewPetruchio - Stanislav KychakKaterina - Olga DerzhypilskaThe Two Gentlemen of VeronaJulia - Daryna KhomynLucetta - Uliana TarasevychThe Comedy of ErrorsLuciana - Anastasia SamborskaAntipholus of Syracuse - Volodymyr MostovyiDromio of Syracuse - Roman Vasylchuk The Merry Wives of WindsorMrs Ford - Violetta FilukMrs Paige - Maria MelnykSir John Falstaff - Danylo ZhilinskiyMr Ford - Yarema Tkachuk Mr Page - Stanislav KachmarykCaius - Volodymyr MostovyiEvans - Roman VasylchukRobin - Andriy BaidakJohn - Stanislav KychakThe Comedy of Errors 2.0Luciana - Anastasia SamborskaAdriana - Lidiia-Mariia Huk    Dromio of Ephesus - Andriy BaidakTwelfth NightMalvolio - Stanislav KachmarykSir Toby - Volodymyr MostovyiSir Andrew - Andriy BaidakThe jester - Yarema TkachukMaria - Maria Melnyk"

● Maria Zankovetska National Theater, Lviv, Ukraine ● Teomania ● This island is full of spirits, wild and inaccessible. Prospero, an exile, is now both ruler and dictator. Everything changes in a tempest: a shipwreck has brought to the island nobles - rulers of countries far away and Prospero's old enemies, who have taken away his power and freedom. Will Prospero's magic help to unravel the old disagreements and strife?
Shakespeare's last play is a tragicomedy. It is a sad fairy tale for adults about the fact that humanity cannot grow up, about delusions of grandeur and this crazy world.
The production was created in cooperation with Maria Zankovetska National Theater, Kharkiv State Academic Puppet Theater named after V. Afanasiev, and the Kyiv Academic Theater of Drama and Comedy on the left bank of the Dnipro River.

DIRECTOR - Dmitriieva Oksana
SET AND COSTUME DESIGNER - Nikolayev Mykhaylo
MUSIC - Kateryna Palachova
CHOROGRAPHY - Oleksii Busko
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR - Olesia Halkanova-Lan
STAGE MANAGER - Roksolana Homeniuk
LIGHTING DESIGNER - Serhii Voitychuk"

Prospero - Oleh Stefanov
Antonio - Andrij Kozak
Ferdinand - Voznyi Ihor
Miranda - Haliv Oksana
Caliban - Pantielieiev Volodymyr, Iaroslav Fedorchuk
Ariel - Yaroslav Derpak
Alonso - Stepan Hlova
Gonzalo - Ihor Havryliv, Dmytro Karshnevych
Sebastian - Yurii Radionov
Trinculo - Vasyl Korzhyk
Stephano - Andriy Voytyuk, Viacheslav Zhukov

This illustrated lecture will explore how Shakespeare's plays have inspired and enabled the work of painters and sculptors over the last four centuries -- despite the ambivalence Shakespeare's plays themselves display about both painting and sculpture. It will look particularly at the crucial role Shakespearean subject-matter played in the development of British art from the time of William Hogarth to that of Laura Knight -- whether in the form of portraits of star actors, depictions of native history, or gothic fantasies inspired by Shakespearean ghosts and fairies -- although it will glance, too, at other major European figures including Delacroix and Yerko.

Illustrations created by Vladislav Yerko, an outstanding Ukrainian artist, achieve a new level of synergy between the verbal and the pictorial element. The visual imagery employed by the artist to illustrate Ukrainian translations of Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and King Lear serve as an intersemiotic translation of Shakespeare’s metaphors and symbols and are imaginatively anchored in the text of these great tragedies. Shakespeare’s lines become an interpretative key which unlocks the mysterious and visually splendid world, created by Yerko. In this round table we will talk about the mesmerizing dialogue between the word and the image in A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA’s editions of Shakespeare, unique in the way it acknowledges and builds on the tragedies’ peculiar verbal texture and atmosphere.

Shakespeare theatre posters are born out of a very special and entirely fascinating kind of semiotic synthesis which makes the literature, the theatre and the visual arts work together in an attempt to bring to light the very essence of the production in an extremely tightly coiled form as well as make the theatre audience fall in love with the performance even before seeing it.
And as “love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind”, many posters employ inventive strategies which include conceptual imagery, visual metaphors, intricate typography, color symbolism, etc. In this panel, we will try to decipher the codes of some of the most interesting theatre posters and see how their visual language can be used in teaching Shakespeare creatively at schools and universities.

● Maria Zankovetska National Theater, Lviv, Ukraine ● Teomania ● This island is full of spirits, wild and inaccessible. Prospero, an exile, is now both ruler and dictator. Everything changes in a tempest: a shipwreck has brought to the island nobles - rulers of countries far away and Prospero's old enemies, who have taken away his power and freedom. Will Prospero's magic help to unravel the old disagreements and strife?
Shakespeare's last play is a tragicomedy.It is a sad fairy tale for adults about the fact that humanity cannot grow up, about delusions of grandeur and this crazy world.
The production was created in cooperation with Maria Zankovetska National Theater, Kharkiv State Academic Puppet Theater named after V. Afanasiev, and the Kyiv Academic Theater of Drama and Comedy on the left bank of the Dnipro River.

DIRECTOR - Dmitriieva Oksana
SET AND COSTUME DESIGNER - Nikolayev Mykhaylo
MUSIC - Kateryna Palachova
CHOROGRAPHY - Oleksii Busko
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR - Olesia Halkanova-Lan
STAGE MANAGER - Roksolana Homeniuk
LIGHTING DESIGNER - Serhii Voitychuk"

Prospero - Oleh Stefanov
Antonio - Andrij Kozak
Ferdinand - Voznyi Ihor
Miranda - Haliv Oksana
Caliban - Pantielieiev Volodymyr, Iaroslav Fedorchuk
Ariel - Yaroslav Derpak
Alonso - Stepan Hlova
Gonzalo - Ihor Havryliv, Dmytro Karshnevych
Sebastian - Yurii Radionov
Trinculo - Vasyl Korzhyk
Stephano - Andriy Voytyuk, Viacheslav Zhukov

The bilingual online museum “#Hamlet_UA: Act I, Scene 1943” was created to preserve the memory of the 1943 premiere of Hamlet in Lviv. The virtual exposition forms a holistic view of the first translations of Hamlet into Ukrainian (1865-1943) and allows visitors to plunge into the atmosphere of Lviv during World War II and feel the spirit of the Ukrainian prapremiere.
The online space features unique exhibits: photocopies of pages from translations, manuscripts, original prints and documents, photographs, and reviews of the first production. Visitors can take a virtual walk through the exhibition halls, read biographies of the translators, director, and actors, and learn about the historical context in which the play was created and the post-war fate of its creators.
The museum not only tells the story of the premiere, but also highlights the importance of the Ukrainian Hamlet for the formation of the identity of Ukrainians as a European nation.

● Nameless Theatre / Teatrul Fără Nume, Chisinau, Moldova
● Drama ● W. Shakespeare and E. Ionesco
● A modern vision of the classic ""Macbeth,"" directed by Mihai Ţărnă, inspired by the works of William Shakespeare and Eugene Ionesco.""Macbeth"" is a classical tragedy that brings to the forefront a feverish passion, provokes political upheavals, and challenges moral values.
The prophecy of the three witches that stated that Macbeth is destined to become king gave Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, the long-awaited news and finally their reality. Spending the night at Macbeth's castle, Duncan, the king of Scotland, is assassinated amidst the festivities. Macbeth becomes the king of Scotland.
Macbeth, the murderous king, washes his bloodstained shirts in the waters of a forbidden confession. These shirts can be associated to the inhumed people at Izyum and Bucea. They are waving their mummified arms in front of the criminal dictator whom the Kremlin walls can no longer hide from the fury of the universe, demanding justice and revenge.
A performance that vividly reveals the truth about the most odious crime that a person, thirsty for power, can commit: the transformation of pure love into pure hatred.

Director - Mihai Țărnă
Assistant director - Larisa Dascal
Composer - Alexandru Dicusar
Costume painter - Inga Botnariuc
Scenography - Mihai Țărnă, Adrian Suruceanu
Body expression - Oleg Mardari
Special effects - Victor Zburliuc
Light design - Eduard Chiperco, Tudor Carapascal
Sound design - Vlad Vascan
Aerial acrobatics - Veronica Mereuță
Translated by Horia Gârbea (from the Shakespeare, Opera edition, coordinated and edited by George Volceanov).                                                               

Macbeth - Alexandru RusuLady Macbeth - Mihaela Popescu Duncan - Alexandru DicusarCawdor - Ion MunteanuBanquo - Petre DraganceaMacduff - Marius Cătălin- Tulum Lady Macduff - Victoria Manciu Malcolm - Ion Gârneț Ross- Maxim GuvirFleance - Vlad Rusnac Portarul - Valentin MunteanuVrăjitoarele - Victoria Țurcanu, Antonia Barancea ,Rada MișcoiUcigașii - Valentin Munteanu, Vitalie Mândrescu

The guests and participants of the festival are invited to the discussion: Tamara Trunova (Сhief director of the Kyiv Academic Theatre of Drama and Comedy on the Left Bank of the Dnipro River); Oksana Dmitrieva (Chief director of the Kharkiv Academic Puppet Theatre named after Viktor Afanasiev, honor artist of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea), Serhiy Dorofeev (Artistic Director of the Sumy National Academic Theatre of Drama and Musical Comedy named after Mykhailo Shchepkin), Rostyslav Derzhypilskyi (General Director of the festival, people's artist of Ukraine), Dr. Yana Partola (Dean of the Theatre Faculty of the Kharkiv National University of Arts named after Ivan Kotlyarevskyi), Ivanna Skyba-Yakubova (Poet, publicist, cultural manager).

As Olena Apchel, a theater director, researcher, and now a soldier, says: ‘War is our identity’. And this identity is manifested, consciously or unconsciously, in all our statements and artistic gestures. We can only explore this identity, trying to be honest with ourselves first and foremost. Shakespeare's drama provokes conversations about the world order, about the universal antinomies of good and evil, love and hate, mercy and violence, about a person with all his or her weaknesses, fears and sometimes naive hopes for a happy ending. We will talk about how the war manifests itself in Ukrainian Shakespeare, how it transforms the meanings and voices of its heroes and heroines, what accents it places and what themes it levels.

● The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, Chisinau, Moldova ● psychological monodrama ● Julia Bukała
MATULKA is an innovative monodrama inspired by William Shakespeare's classic drama Romeo and Juliet. Set in contemporary Warsaw, the action focuses on family relationships and the psychology of the characters. In this new interpretation, the mother replaces the role of the father. The mother becomes an overbearing, controlling figure who dominates her daughter's life. The stepfather, silent and withdrawn, is not involved in the upbringing.
The play reveals the themes of overprotection, family conflicts and psychological aspects of human destiny. Yulka, who struggles with her oppressive mother, faces a difficult choice in the face of her love for Romek. When their love is severely tested, Yulka must find the strength to confront the reality that surrounds her.
‘MATULKA is a highly multimedia production that redefines the form of theatre. The audience will see an intensive use of music, recordings and animation, which emphasise the emotional nuances of the story. The play provokes deep reflections on the relationship between parents and children, control and freedom, as well as on life choices and their consequences.

Screenplay - Julia Bukała
Directed by Julia Bukała, Artur Zudzin-Wiśniewski
Music by Ariel Kamiński
Animation - Julia Wojtanowska
Graphics - Dominika Kałuzińska
Art direction - Marcin Hycnar 

Julia Bukała
Actors in the video:
Romek - Artur Zudzin-Wiśniewski
Tymek - Kamil Owczarek
Marta - Lucyna Frączek
Voices:
Mother - Izabela Kuna
Stepfather - Jerzy Łazewski 

● Kyiv Academic theatre on Pechersk, Kyiv, Ukraine ● Tradegy ● Every new Hamlet is the face of an era. What should it be like today? What is revenge and what is duty? Is it possible to have happiness when all the laws of existence are broken and at what cost you have to pay for it?
Exploring one of Shakespeare's most ingenious plays, we ask a number of questions. And our present-day Hamlet - not only the answers to them - is a reflection on the essence of man, about theater and art in general.

Directors - Olha Larina and Denys Martynov.
Scenographer - Borys Orlov.
Light Artist - Olexandr Bezverkhyi.
Costume Designer - Liliia Lutsenko.
Choreographer - Olha Larina.
Composer - Dmytro Sribnyi and Denys Martynov.

Denys Martynov - Hamlet, Viktoriia Shchehel - Hamlet (alter ego), Hryhorii Baklanov - Claudius, Yuliia Pershuta - Gertrude, Ruslan Sokolnyk - Polonius, Hlukhovska Varvara - Ophelia, Maksym Samchyk - Laertes, Ihor Kachur - Rosencrantz. 

● Ivano-Frankivsk National Academic Drama Theater named after Ivan Franko, Ivano-Framkivsk, Ukraine ● Dramma per musica
● By William Shakespeare, translated by Yurii Andruhovych
● Dramma per musica “ROMEO & JULIET” is a post-apocalyptic version of Shakespeare’s saddest tragedy in an experimental format. The love story of the pure hearts of Romeo and Juliet in the corrupt post-apocalyptic Verona.

Director - People's Artist of Ukraine, laureate of the National Prize of Ukraine named after T. Shevchenko Rostyslav DerzhypilskyiComposers - laureates of the National Prize of Ukraine named after T. Shevchenko Roman Hryhoriv, Ilia RazumeikoArtist - Yuliia ZaulychnaPlastic solution - Olha Semioshkina

Oleh Panas - Romeo MontecchiInna Bevza - Juliet CapuletOleksii Hnatkovskyi - Brother LorenzoOlha Komanovska - Juliet's nurseIhor Zakharchuk -Señor Montecchi, Romeo's fatherMyroslava Polataiko - Signora Capulet, Juliet's motherYurii Khvostenko - Senior Capulet, Juliet's fatherAndrii Melnyk – ParisYurii Vykhovanets – Tybalt, Juliet's cousinIvan Blindar – Mercutio, Romeo's friendMaria Stopnyk – EryniaNadiia Levchenko – EryniaOlesia Pasichniak – EryniaViktor Abramiuk, Vladyslav Demydiuk, Oleh Derkach, Bohdan Romaniuk, Ostap Sloboda, Mykola Slyvchuk – Monks

Moderators: Prof. Nataliya Torkut (Shakespeare scholar, Head of the Ukrainian Shakespeare Centre, Honourary Senior Research Fellow at the Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham), Dr. Darya Lazarenko (Shakespeare scholar, Assistant Professor, New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria)
Participants: Dr. Olha Kvasnytsia (CBT Psychochologist, Journalist, Shakespeare scholar, Associate Professor, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine), Dr. Nataliia Gutaruk (Shakespeare scholar, ELT, Zaporizhzhia Sichovyi Colegium, Ukraine), Yana Nikityuk (postgraduate student of Zaporizhzhia National University, Ukraine), Svitlana Deineka (postgraduate student of Taras Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine)

Kelly Hunter, MBE, has worked with The Royal Shakespeare Company and The National Theatre. She is the author of the Hunter Heartbeat Method which uses the powerful potential of William Shakespeare's language and special sensory games to help overcome communication disorders in young people with autism, including non-verbal individuals, as well as people dealing with trauma and PTSD. The methodology is described in the book “Shakespeare's Heartbeat: Drama games for children with autism” (2014). A research project conducted at Ohio University (USA) convincingly proved the effectiveness of this approach. In her presentation, Kelly Hunter will speak about the key principles of applying her method as well as her work with FLUTE theatre aimed at helping families who suffered from russian war in Ukraine.

Guests of the festival are invited to join the discussion: Professor Nicoleta Cinpoes (Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of Worcester, Member of the Board of the European Shakespeare Research Association and the Board of the Shakespeare Festivals Network, UK), Professor Michael Dobson (Shakespeare scholar, Director of the Shakespeare Institute at the University of Birmingham in Stratford-upon-Avon, Honourary Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Higher School of Ukraine, UK), Anna Kowalcze-Pawlik (lecture at University of Lodz, vice-editor of “Multicultural Shakespeare”, co-curator of the International Shakespeare Festival in Gdańsk, Poland, and vice-president of the Polish Shakespeare Society), Dr. Sofia Rosa-Lavrentii (associate professor in Ivan Franko Lviv National University), Professor Nataliya Torkut (Shakespeare scholar, Head of the Ukrainian Shakespeare Centre, Honourary Senior Research Fellow at the Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham)

Shakespeare's texts can take on new meanings depending on the changing context. But are all the ideas and thoughts expressed by Ukrainian directors readable? How crucial is the knowledge of the Ukrainian context for understanding the performances? What remains unexpressed, unspoken? Perhaps something has no counterpart in the plays of the Great Bard, and therefore the performances are forced to supplement the canonical texts to reveal the local context. After all, who are these Ukrainian Hamlet, Othello, Prospero, Romeo and Juliet?
In this panel, we will try to outline the boundaries of local experience and correlate it with certain universals that the discourse of European productions can represent. Perhaps we will find answers. Perhaps we will only increase the number of questions.

● Kyiv National Academic Molodyy Theatre, Kyiv, Ukraine ● Ascetic comedy
● How does the well-known romantic comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream" sound in the context of a Ukrainian traditional rite? Shakespeare's play is seen as a one-of-a-kind ceremonial performance. In the words of a famous writer, we poetize traditional rituals.In the global narrative, we locate the key to the national code and adapt it to the present. We establish parallels with our historical stories by changing the major characters from Greeks to Ukrainians. At the same time, we leave the foundation to William Shakespeare, and the resulting blend appears current, natural, and unique. On stage, reality melts into legend.

Director – Andrii BilousChoreographer – Nina ZmerzlaComposer – Illia ChoporovLightening design – Mari Hakopyan"

Oberon/Theseus – Ivan Potapov Titania/Hippolyta – Daria Hrachova Robin "Puck" Goodfellow/Elf/Director – Dmytro Liakh Lysander – Maksym Kozynyi Demetrius – Dmytro TretiakovHelena – Ruslana Petriakova Hermia – Nikoletta Mochani Actors and forest dwellers – all "

The presentation of the first volume of the three-volume book Shakespeare in Ukrainian on the Other Side of the Iron Curtain, published by the Ukrainian Propylaea Publishing House (2024), is intended to introduce the general public to the creative and scientific work of Ukrainian intellectuals who, after World War II, while in exile, actively were restoring the traditions of Ukrainian Shakespeareana, which were brutally destroyed in Ukraine by the waves of Bolshevik terror.
This original book includes an anthology of literary translations (two versions of Macbeth and King Henry IV by Teodosiy Osmachka are represented in the first volume), a collective scholarly monograph that contains articles by renowned scholars in literary, translation, and theatre studies, and a collection of documents (letters, reports, interviews), most of which are published for the first time.
The publication of this unique work about the history and achievements of the Ukrainian Shakespeare Society (1964-2000), which has been made in the extremely difficult time of a full-scale war, looks symbolic for Ukraine, as it emphasises the idea of Shakespeare's importance for the self-identification of Ukrainians as a European nation. The book overcomes the artificial separation of intellectual and cultural achievements of ‘mainland’ Ukraine and the Ukrainian diaspora, which was created by the Soviet regime. It combines the unnaturally separated parts of our cultural space into hollistic integrity.
During the presentation, the audience will have the opportunity to talk to the author of the idea for the three-volume book, the outstanding scholar Mark Robert Stech, who is not only the editor and compiler of the publication, but also a commentator on the materials and author of the comprehensive foreword.

The presentation of Maggie O'Farrell's novel "Hamnet," translated by Yevheniia Kanchura, is designed for both Shakespeare enthusiasts and those interested in modern literary translation, as well as a general audience. This work, which has sparked significant cultural interest, marks an important event in Shakespearean studies and prompts a reevaluation of contemporary issues.
O'Farrell's exploration of the shared names of Shakespeare's son and one of his most famous characters delves into themes such as the impact of the family environment on creative development, freedom, love, self-awareness, and life choices. The presentation invites the audience to consider the novel within the context of translation challenges, examining how the translator influences the perception of the work by readers from different cultures. It also explores how the names of historical and literary figures shape the author's and translator's approaches.

● English Theatre Company & La Ribalta Teatro, Pisa, Italy
● Why “Double Bill”? Well the idea is to give voice to two different points of view of the Hamlet story: that of the Gravediggers and of the Players. Gravediggers and Players are the material executors of the fate that revolves around Elsinore: they represent the beginning and the end of Hamlet's story. They open and close the dances. If the Players are the spark that ignites in Hamlet the idea of unmasking King Claudius through the staging of what happened at the Danish court, the Gravediggers are the end of the suffering of the characters in the text, as they ascertain the end, relative and absolute, of Hamlet's vicissitudes. If the Players are the inventors of life and its possible plots, the gravediggers are the custodians of death and the end of the characters' lives. And it is precisely this unconscious importance they hold throughout the text that makes them, unbeknownst to themselves, such comic characters. On stage only three actors and two languages: Italian and English. So continues the linguistic and stylistic research of the trio, born from the fusion of two different theatrical experiences, La Ribalta Teatro and The English Theatre Company. The linguistic difference, which in the two plays corresponds to a social difference, will itself be a source of conflict and comedy, creating a multi-layered performance: both rich and complex, and simple and essential. 

Written, directed and played by Alberto Ierardi, Giorgio Vierda and Adrian Hughes.

Written, directed and played by Alberto Ierardi, Giorgio Vierda and Adrian Hughes