Voyage Theater Company and Theater on Zhukah Launch a Joint Project of Readings of Ukrainian and American Drama

"Theatrical Windows: Ukraine-USA" is a cultural exchange project that has now been launched in a partnership between the Theater on Zhukah in Kharkiv and the Voyage Theater Company of New York City.

On May 8, with the support of the Center for International Theatre Development (CITD) and the Ukrainian Institute of Kyiv, the New York Public Library hosted the first event of the joint project – "Voices from Ukraine," an evening of staged readings of plays by contemporary Ukrainian playwrights.

Voyage Theater Company selected 5 short plays about the war in Ukraine that explore the trials, tribulations and emotional experiences that Ukrainians face daily as a consequence of Russia’s ongoing military aggression. The plays presented as part of the “Voices from Ukraine” program were “24 Hours” by Nina Zakhozhenko, “A Fan of War” by Polina Polozhentseva, “The Sailor” by Oksana Hrytsenko, “A Time for First Dates” by Marina Smilianets, “New York, Donetsk, Ukraine, 100°F” by Oleksandr Zhuhan, all of them in English translation.

photo Robert Sutherland-Cohen

Artistic Director of Voyage Theater Company Wayne Maugans noted that he and his team feel a great responsibility in mounting this work, and that it has become their personal mission to support Ukraine and bring its voices to the American audience. He reported that the event aroused strong interest, with nearly 200 people registering for the 100 seats in the hall of the New York Library. Consequently, for the first time in its practice, the theater organized an online stream of the readings in order to increase their audience outreach.

In the next phase of the U.S.-based project, Voyage Theater Company, which specializes in staging non-American plays and often presents new and