06.03.2023
We have had the first table rehearsal of the play “A kitten peed on my banner. Chronicles from Donbass’ directed by Aleksandra Poplawska, based on the text by Lena Lagushonkova. During the rehearsal, we learned about the cast, concepts sets, costumes and video projections. The premiere is scheduled for 28 April this year.
O spektaklu
The performance is based on three plays by a young Ukrainian playwright, presenting a
panorama of the fate of a community from a small village in Donbass in eastern Ukraine, where the author comes from. The dramas are set in the period from the decline of the Soviet Union, through Euromaidan, the war in Donbass in 2014 to Russian aggression in 2022. Lena Lagushonkova wrote the last part of the series a year ago in a Kiev shelter, hiding from the bombings.
Funny and terrible, grotesque and painfully true – Lagushonkova’s dramas not only give an insight into the context of the current war with Russia, but, above all, show the fate of people who are trying to preserve their lives and dignity in the face of historical turbulence.
photo: Monika Zielińska
Cast and creators
On 24 February, all the creators of the play and the almost full cast met for the first time. “A kitten peed on my banner. Chronicles from the Donbass” is a story written by a Ukrainian author about Ukraine, so artists and creators from that country were invited to work on the performance. The costumes will be designed by Alona Zozulia, the music consultant will be Mariana Sadowska and the set consultant will be Volodymyr Melymuk, while Daria Polunina will be seen on stage.
I have this idea of getting at least half of the outfits from Ukraine directly. That’s what I care most about, because the subject is very complicated and of course actual. Here and now, unfortunately, there is a war, so I care about making it all as authentic as possible. As a Ukrainian, I will try to do everything I can from my part to make it happen.
Alyona Zozulia
Cast
On stage will be Jan Dravnel, Izabella Dudziak, Mateusz Górski, Magdalena Kuta, Lech Łotocki, Maria Maj, Sebastian Pawlak, Daria Polunina, Justyna Wasilewska, Julia Wyszyńska, Mirosław Zbrojewicz and Agnieszka Żulewska.
Creators
direction: Aleksandra Poplawska
written by: Lena Lagushonkova
translation: Agnieszka Lubomira Piotrowska (“Pipidówa”)
Agnieszka Sowinska (‘Gorky’s Mother’, ‘My banner has been peed on by a kitten’)
scenography: Tomasz Mreńca
lighting design: Karolina Gębska
music: Tomasz Mreńca, Daniel Spaleniak
musical consultation: Mariana Sadovska
costumes: Alyona Zozulia
video projections: Maria Matylda Wojciechowska
choreography: Łukasz Wójcicki
assistant director: Piotr Piotrowicz
stage manager: Katarzyna Gawryś
production manager: Aleksandra Szklarczyk
scenography assistant: Monika Zielińska
