Theater production of Shevchenko's "The Dream"

[Diana Howansky]

Next week, the Ukrainian Studies Program at Columbia is proud to present 
a limited-time-only performance by:

“TEATR-V-KOSHYKU” (THEATER-IN-BASKET)

Presenting Taras Shevchenko’s “The Dream.” A Comedy.
Performed by – Lidiya Danylchuk
Director – Iryna Volytska

Teatr-v-Koshyku, visiting the United States as participants in the “Best 
of European Solo Acts” festival in Chicago, is offering a solo theater 
performance at Columbia based on the famous poem of Taras Shevchenko, 
“The Dream” (1844), which combined in itself the characteristics of 
political satire and miracle-play. This performance is a 
poetical-philosophical reflection on the historical fate of Ukraine and, 
at the same time, a unique commentary in the cultural context about the 
first half of the 19th century, where Gogol, Pushkin and Mickiewicz 
intersected.

The lyrical hero of Shevchenko, in his dreams, flies above the Earth and 
is exposed to strange visions, similar to the apocalyptic visions of 
Dante and Goya. Like in a kaleidoscope, chimerical images appear and 
change: three ravens, which symbolize the bad powers of the Ukrainian, 
Russian and Polish nations; idylls of Ukrainian nature and pseudo 
national outpourings of feelings; military operations and drills; 
Petersburg with the tsar and tsarina, as despotic officials and imperial 
monuments. Phantasmagoria, visions, and images, presented in a parodic, 
sarcastic and grotesque display, refer to the tragedy of Ukrainian history.

This contemporary theatrical version of “The Dream” appeals to the past, 
as well as to the current-day. It is a performance-parting with the 
totalitarian system in any of its form, with post-imperial syndromes and 
complexes of national inferiority.

WHEN: Thursday, November 10 at 7:00pm
WHERE: LeRoy Neiman Gallery, Dodge Hall, Columbia University
COST: The performance is free, but a minimum donation of $10 for 
Teatr-v-Koshyku is suggested.

***********************************************************************

Iryna Volytska-Zubko:  PhD, specialist in drama study, critic, stage 
director. Prizewinner of Les Kurbas National Theatrical Award. Graduated 
from Saint-Petersburg Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography. 
Brings theatre study into concord with stage and art director practice 
at “Theatre-in-Basket,” which as of 2004 became an affiliate project of 
Les Kurbas National Centre for Dramatic Art (Kyiv). Iryna Volytska-Zubko 
is the author of several monographies and many articles on the history 
of Ukrainian theatre. As a stage director of “Theatre-in-Basket,” she 
produced six critically acclaimed performances based on Ukrainian classics.

Lidiya Danylchuk:  Actress. Prizewinner of Ivan Kotliarevsky National 
Theatrical Award. Graduated from Karpenko-Karyy National Theatre 
Institute (Kyiv). Stage career both in Odessa and Lviv top theatres. In 
1997, together with Iryna Volytska-Zubko, she co-founded the independent 
art-studio “Theatre-in-Basket,” where she now performs as a leading 
actress. She received high renown and many awards for her superior 
acting skills, both in Ukraine and abroad.

For more information, please contact Diana Howansky at 
ukrainianstudies at columbia.edu or (212)854-4697.

(Please note that Teatr-v-Koshyku will also be performing "THE WHITE 
BUTTERFLIES, THE PLAITED CHAINS," based on letters and novels written by 
Vasyl Stefanyk, on Saturday, November 12 at Shevchenko Scientific 
Society, 63 Fourth Avenue, New York, 212-254-5130.)


-- 
Diana Howansky
Staff Associate
Ukrainian Studies Program
Columbia University
Room 1209, MC3345
420 W. 118th Street
New York, NY  10027
(212) 854-4697
ukrainianstudies at columbia.edu
http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/ukrainianstudies/

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