MARIUPOL Comes to Edinburgh in July

MARIUPOL is coming to Edinburgh this summer. Performances will run at 3 Pleasance Courtyard Beneath, from 30 July – 25 August 2025. Set across thirty turbulent years, MARIUPOL tells the story of love found, lost, and tested by war. 

In 1992, Russian student Galina falls for Ukrainian Navy officer Steve during a summer holiday in Mariupol. A decade later, their paths cross again in Moscow and finally, thirty years on, at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when Galina returns to the now-devastated city hoping Steve can help her find her son who is missing in the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works. Inspired by playwright Katia Haddad’s childhood summers in Mariupol, this drama explores relationships that blossom and break on opposing sides of conflict. MARIUPOL arrives at the Fringe following a successful run at London’s Cockpit Theatre earlier this year which was directed by Olivier award winner John Retallack. The run at the Fringe will be directed by John’s brother Guy Retallack.

This February marked three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Azovstal Iron and Steel Works – a massive complex of warehouses, railroad trucks and industrial strength furnaces that spanned four miles along Mariupol’s coast – became an emblem of the war after Ukrainian soldiers and civilians took shelter in the bunkers and tunnels there for more than two months as Russian forces bombarded it with missiles. The plant became one of the last areas of resistance during the initial attacks on Mariupol at the start of the war in February 2022. In times of peace, Mariupol wasn’t just known as an industrial city. The Bellasoraiskaya Sandbank, on the outskirts of Mariupol, is a nature reserve and home to hundreds of wildlife species and a favourite holiday spot for locals and tourists alike.

Director John Retallack: “I think MARIUPOL is a vital story for our times. We don't always understand the intricacies of national identity when we think about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Katia Haddad's play illuminates much that we do not understand when we are listening to the news. The play is both non-sentimental and extremely moving. I have learnt so much simply by directing this story. MARIUPOL has my two very favourite actors -- Nathalie Barclay and Ollie Gomm. This hour-long play brings, in micro, the whole terrible story of Mariupol, of Ukraine, to life. I hope many people see this essential story. It has been beautifully crafted by a superb creative team.”

Katia Haddad is a writer, playwright and screenwriter. Born in Russia, she had personal and family connections to Ukraine. She has lived in the UK since 1995. She wrote her novel TATIANA’S DAY under Jill Dawson’s Gold Dust mentoring programme. She joined Oxford Playwriting in 2022 and has written two plays as a part of it: MARIUPOL and SWAPNIGHT. She is also a graduate of the scriptwriting course at the National Film and Television School.

Guy Retallack is a Critics Circle award-winning theatre director and acting coach. He is the co-founder of the Bridgehouse Theatre SE20. Guy has worked at The National Theatre, Out of Joint, The Globe and for Bill Kenwright Ltd. Guy’s international work has taken him to Germany, Serbia, Greece and the USA.  He returns to the Fringe after directing Mr and Mrs Love in 2023. Other Edinburgh Fringe credits include: Rachel Tucker’s solo show, On The Road, Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story, Emma and The Lifeblood.

John Retallack is an Olivier Award, Fringe First and double Herald Angel award winning playwright and director. He was the founding director of ATC Theatre and Company of Angels, ran the Oldham Coliseum Theatre and Oxford Stage Company, and was an Associate Director at the Bristol Old Vic. His career spans nearly half a century and includes Quixote and The Provok’d Wife (Oliver Award for Best Newcomer in a Play), his Fringe debut in 1978 with the Fringe First winning Don Juan, and Herald Angel award winning Hannah and Hanna (2001) and Apples (2010). He returns to the Fringe for the first time since 2017 (Hannah and Hanna in Dreamland). Since 2017 John runs Oxford Playwriting course for professional writers. 

Nathalie Barclay (Galina) is a British/American actress. Theatre credits include Don’t Destroy Me (Arcola Theatre) and Macbeth (Curtain Theatre, NYC). TV credits include Killing Eve (BBC1), The Diplomat (Netflix), Surface (Apple TV).

Oliver Gomm (Steve) is a British actor, poet and artist. Theatre credits include Kill Me Now (Park Theatre), The School of Sheming (Orange Tree Theatre). TV credits include The Coroner (BBC 1) and SS-GB (BBC1).

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