Finborough Theatre Presents Digital Stream of OTVETKA

The Finborough Theatre's new digital initiative #FinboroughFrontier continues with the first in an ongoing season of online readings and performances of Ukrainian Plays as a part of the Worldwide Ukrainian Play Reading Series, a collaboration with the Theatre of Playwrights in Kyiv to read new Ukrainian plays around the world. In addition, true to our policy of pairing vibrant new writing with unique rediscoveries, we will also be presenting readings and performances of classic Ukrainian drama and poetry in English.

Under the shadow of an imminent Russian attack, a woman tries to hold her shattered life together after the father of her unborn child is killed in the Donbas by a sniper. Suddenly, her phone pings with a happy message from a friend on the other side. A wedding invitation! How will she respond?

This explosive 'monodrama' by leading Ukrainian writer Neda Nezhdana confronts not only the physical war between Russia and Ukraine, but the hybrid war she sees unravelling around the world.

'Otvetka' is a Ukrainian word that means both answers and a military retaliation.

The play is currently electrifying audiences in Ukraine where performances are constantly interrupted by the all-too-real sound of the air-raid siren. It is dedicated to a true Ukrainian hero, the tenor Vasyl Slipak who traded success in the Paris Opera in 2016 to volunteer to fight for his country in the Donbas - only to be killed by a sniper a few months later.

Playwright Neda Nezhdana is one of Ukraine's leading playwrights, theatre-makers, poets and translators. She is the author of twenty four original plays, including The Suicide of Loneliness and When the Rain Returns, plus eight adaptations and two collections of poetry. Born in Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, she lives in Kyiv, but is now in internal exile in Chernivtsi. She has worked with the Lesya Kurbas National Centre for Theatre Arts for twenty years, founded the Kyiv independent theatre MIST and is Chairman of the Confederation of Playwrights of Ukraine. Her plays such as Pussycat in Memory of Darkness, He Opens the Door, and Lost In the Fog have become potent symbols of Ukraine's battle for independent existence. One of her most celebrated plays is the culture-defining semi-documentary drama Maidan Inferno about the pivotal events of the Maidan of 2014. It has been performed in France as well as across Ukraine. Stage readings and excerpts from Maidan Inferno have been performed in several Ukrainian cities in the months since the invasion, and her play Ovetka received its wartime premiere in Uzhhorod in April 2022.

Writer, poet and playwright John Farndon currently lives in London. He is an award-winning translator of literature from Eurasia, including many plays for the Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings.

Director Sally Beck Wippman is a theatre maker, specialising in directing, movement, writing, and performance. She believes in the power of art to transform minds and spirits, and seeks to shine light on life's synchronicities through story. Sally is originally from Chicago, and has been an active member of Migrants in Theatre, an organisation that advocates for equity for first-generation migrant theatre artists in the UK by highlighting the unique strengths and contributions such diverse voices and experiences bring to the table. Sally has found her home in various cities around Europe, and the ideas of home, language, justice, and connection despite differences are themes at the forefront of her artistic passion.

Performed by Kate Vostrikova. Now a London-based international actress, Kate is a native Ukrainian and Russian speaker. Kate grew up in Kyiv, where her career started. After her first year of training in the Kyiv National Theatre and Cinema University, she appeared as a lead character in several TV series for Ukrainian national television. She continued her training at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BAA) in the UK. Since then, she has been working on various independent films and TV series both in the UK and Europe. Recently Kate performed at The Royal Court Theatre in their production On The War. She strongly supports Ukraine against the Russian aggression and her family are staying in Ukraine right now.

Available FREE TO VIEW on the Finborough Theatre YouTube channel #FinboroughFrontier.

All videos are free to view but we do ask for donations for Voices.org.ua, a Ukrainian charity providing urgently needed psychological and psychosocial support to children affected by the war in Ukraine. For more information, click here.

Available from Monday, 30 May at 6.00pm
Simultaneously available free with subtitles on Scenesaver
www.scenesaver.co.uk
Performance Length: Approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.