Festival of First Plays

A joint event by the independent Nafta Theatre and the Veterans Theatre.

Festival of First Plays

A joint event by the independent Nafta Theatre and the Veterans Theatre.

Festival of First Plays

A joint event by the independent Nafta Theatre and the Veterans Theatre.

Nafta, together with the Veterans Theatre, held the "Festival of First Plays"!
The Veterans Theatre is a joint initiative of TRO Media and the Theatre of Playwrights, where the main goal is to help veterans rethink their own experience through art and bring their stories to the audience.
This is a platform for creativity, recovery, and dialogue, where participants learn to talk about their experiences through dramaturgy and acting and transform them into art. It unites veterans, their families, and civilians who have lived through traumatic experiences. The plays written by the Veterans Theatre are presented at the "Festival of First Plays" across Ukraine, amplifying the voice of veterans, challenging stigmatization, and fostering dialogue between the military and civilians.
Nafta picked up the baton and held readings on October 25 and 26, showcasing four texts:
1. "21" by Olha MurashkoThis is the story of Maryna, a volunteer and the wife of a soldier, who lives with her daughter in a village and waits for news from her husband at the front. When a brooding hen dies, leaving an incubated egg behind, the woman decides to warm it herself to give new life a chance. Villagers whisper that she is a witch and is supposedly hiding the egg under her armpit to hatch a Khovanets (a helpful evil spirit). But the protagonist's motivation is actually quite different...
Text Author: Olha MurashkoDirector: Nina KhyzhnaActors: Olena Bazhenova, Myroslava Kuts (also Composer), Snizhana Nikolaenko, Anton Repiakh, Artur Slisarenko, Kyrylo Kliuchkin
2. "Dragon’s Strike" by Hennadii UdovenkoDuring the full-scale invasion, he lost a limb and, along with it, a part of his "self." This play is an attempt to reassemble himself: piece by piece, word by word. It is about pain that transforms into movement. About weakness that proves to be strength. About a person who, stubbornly and persistently, learns to live again.
Text Author: Hennadii UdovenkoDirector: Sofia OnishchenkoActors: Darya Bohdan, Liza Prasolova, Viktor Yermolenko, Oleksii DubininComposer, Musician: Stas Kononov
3. "Akhmed, Me, and Prophet Elijah" by Yuriy MatsarskyiThis is a narrative that blurs the boundaries between the Middle East and Ukraine. It shows how the pain and hopes of people from Gaza and Ukraine can intertwine, creating a common human backdrop for tragedies, struggle, and compassion. It is a story about human destinies that seemed unlikely to cross but became interwoven in shared pain, hope, and struggle.
Text Author, Actor: Yuriy MatsarskyiDirector, Actor: Maksym Devizorov
4. "Balance" by Alina SarnatskaBetween truth and silence. Between those who returned and those who are no more. "Balance" is not just a play. It is a conversation we should have started long ago. About the balance that everyone finds — or loses — themselves. It is a space where one can be honest. With oneself. With others. With those who are no more. It is a combination of absurdity, dark humour, psychological depth, and documentary accuracy.
Text Author: Alina SarnatskaDirector: Artem VusykActors: Olena Bazhenova, Liza Prasolova, Anton Repiakh, Oleksii DubininComposer, Musician: Stas Kononov
This project was a participant in the "Culture and Human Rights" cohort within the framework of the UNESCO Art-Lab for Human Rights and Dialogue program. We thank @culturna.platforma and @lvivculturehub for their support!

Behind the Scenes Team:Lighting Designer: Oleksandr ChyzhSound Engineer: Andriy TretiakExecutive Director of Nafta Theatre: Tetiana HolubovaExecutive Director of the Veterans Theatre: Yevhen MaliukevychHead of the Educational Course at the Veterans Theatre: Maksym KurochkinCommunications Manager: Lilia StetsiukContent Maker: Snizhana NikolaenkoProduction Manager: Liza PrasolovaMarketer: Ihor KorchevskyiAdministrator: Ania IvanovaProject Manager: Lesya Zakharova

Nafta Theatre

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21/23, Chornoglazivska Street, Kharkiv

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Nafta Theatre

OUR ADDRESS

21/23, Chornoglazivska Street, Kharkiv

TICKETS BOOKING

+380 50 509 3435

E-MAIL

moc.liamg%40tfen.ertaeht





All rights Reserved