Theater in Ukraine (, ''Teatralne mystetsvo Ukrayiny'' – Theatric Arts of Ukraine) is a form of

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

and cultural expression using live actor's performance in front of spectators. Ukrainian theater draws on the native traditions, language and

culture of Ukraine The culture of Ukraine is composed of the material and spiritual values of the Ukrainian people that has formed throughout the history of Ukraine. Strong family values and religion, alongside the traditions of Ukrainian embroidery and Ukrainian ...

. The first known records of Ukrainian theater trace back to the early 17th century.

History

Origins

The origins of Ukrainian theater go back to ancient folk games, dances, songs and

Ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

s. In the 11th century entertainers known as skomorokhy performed in Ukraine. Also Pre-Christian performance in Ukraine was enriched by a "deep reverence and respect for the Supreme Being." Medieval and Early Modern There were elements of theater during church ceremonies, evident from the frescoes of Saint Sophia's Cathedral in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

(eleventh century). The Lviv Brotherhood School and

Ostroh Academy The Ostroh Academy (; ) was an influential institute of higher learning located in Ostroh in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It is considered the first institution of higher education in the Eastern Slavic world, dating to 1576 and foun ...

were considered important centers for the development of religious drama at that time. The first written references to theatrical performances in Ukraine date back to the second decade of the seventeenth century. The performances were brought from the West by

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

who were joining the brotherhood schools and other Ukrainian schools. The performances were used on a large scale as Jesuit propaganda. The texts of some plays, such as "Christmas Day proclamation" by Pamvo Berynda, which was performed in honor of the Bishop of Lviv Jeremiah Tisarovsky (c. 1615 AD), and by Jacob Javantovich (1619 AD) have survived to this day. Records also exist of two Ukrainian plays that were performed, in to commemorate the death of ''

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

'' on August 29, 1619, near

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

17th to 19th Centuries

In the 17th and 18th centuries the performance of Nativity scenes and Christmas plays at local events spread. And in the 17th century

vertep In Ukrainian culture, vertep (Cyrillic: вертеп) is a portable puppet theatre and drama, which presents the nativity scene, other mystery plays, as well as secular plots with satirical and comical elements. The original meaning of the wor ...

, portable

puppet theaters A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

, became popular. The first stationary theater in Ukraine was opened in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

in 1789. In the rest of Ukraine theatrical troupes toured and performed "on the road". In the early 19th century theaters started to appear in Kyiv (1806),

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

(1809),

Poltava Poltava (, ; , ) is a city located on the Vorskla, Vorskla River in Central Ukraine, Central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Poltava Oblast as well as Poltava Raion within the oblast. It also hosts the administration of Po ...

(1808). In the second half of the 19th century amateur theater became popular. The first Ukrainian professional theater (1864–1924) was the Ruska Besida Theater in Lviv. In 1882 in the city of

Yelisavetgrad Kropyvnytskyi (, ) is a city in central Ukraine, situated on the Inhul, Inhul River. It serves as the administrative center of Kirovohrad Oblast. Population: Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name several times. The settlement ...

were founded Theatre of Coryphaei.

20th Century

Mykola Sadovsky established the first resident theater in Kyiv in 1907. Soon after Ukrainian statehood in 1918 the State Drama Theater was created. The "Young Theater" (later the theater " Berezil") was created in Kyiv by

Les Kurbas Oleksandr-Zenon Stepanovych Kurbas (; 24 February 1887 – 30 November 1937), was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian movie and theater director. He is considered by many to be the most important Ukrainian theater director of the 20th century. He formed, ...

and Hnat Yura.

(who worked as a director, actor, dramaturge and interpreter of world literature) brought the works of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of Naturalism (literature), literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into h ...

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

and

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

to the Ukrainian stage. With the creation of Berezil theater its stage became a sort of experimental ground. Berezil introduced for the first time the plays of renowned Ukrainian writers and dramaturges Mykola Kulish and

Volodymyr Vynnychenko Volodymyr Kyrylovych Vynnychenko (; – March 6, 1951) was a Ukrainian statesman, political activist, writer, playwright and artist who served as the first List of prime ministers of Ukraine, prime minister of the Ukrainian People's Republic.< ...

. Les Kurbas was repressed during the

Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...

period but is now viewed as a very important source of inspiration for contemporary Ukrainian artists. Curbas

While the Young Theater was promoting

Avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

Theater, The State Drama Theater continued traditions of realism. Ivan Kotlyarevsky, who headed the Poltava Theater, was viewed as a founder of classical Ukrainian drama while Hryhoriy Kvitka-Osnovyanenko plays also found widespread acclaim.

Modern

In 1988, Volodymyr Kuchynskyi and his colleagues formed the Lviv Young Ukrainian Theatre, which they later renamed the Les Kurbas Theatre. The Les Kurbas Theatre has become the premier avant-garde theatre in Ukraine, receiving recognition and state support from the Ukrainian government. Ukrainian Theater has been increasingly integrated into European culture and there are a number of international theater festivals, which are held in Ukraine every year.

Notable Individuals

Important Ukrainian playwrights from before 1917 include:

Marko Kropyvnytskyi Marko Lukych Kropyvnytskyi (; – ) was a Ukrainian writer, dramaturge, composer, theatre actor and director. Over his career Kropyvnytskyi wrote 40 plays, played in over 500 roles of various repertoire, as well as wrote several songs.Kropyv ...

(1840–1910), Ivan Tobilevich (1845–1907), Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi (1864–1913),

Ivan Franko Ivan Yakovych Franko (, ; 27 August 1856 – 28 May 1916) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, translator, economist, political activist, doctor of philosophy, ethnographer, and the author of the first d ...

(1856–1916) and Lesia Ukrayinka (1871–1913). A new era began after the Communist revolution, important writers since include: Mykola Kulish (1892–1962), Ivan Kocherha (1881– 1952),

Oleksandr Korniychuk Oleksandr Yevdokymovych Korniychuk (; ; – 14 May 1972) was a Soviet and Ukrainian playwright, literary critic and state official. His plays include ''The Death of the Squadron'' (1933), ''Platon Krechet'' (1934), ''Bohdan Khmelnytsky'' (1938), ...

(1905–1972), and Oles` Honchar (1918). Many notable 19th century Ukrainian theater luminaries started out in amateur theater such as: Mykhailo Starytsky, Marko Kropyvnytsky and Ivan Karpenko-Karyi. The leading 19th century female star of the Ukrainian was

Maria Zankovetska Maria Kostiantynivna Adasovska (; 4 August 1854 – 4 October 1934), better known under her pseudonym Maria Zankovetska () was a Ukrainian theater actress. Some sources date her birth to 3 August 1860. In 1922, Zankovetska became the first recip ...

. The renowned theatrical family of Tobilevychi also rose to prominence in the 19th century: Ivan Karpenko-Karyi, Mykola Sadovsky and Panas Saksahansky (stage names) all not only acted and directed but also created their own acting troupes. Their private estate, Khutir Nadia, near

Kropyvnytskyi Kropyvnytskyi (, ) is a city in central Ukraine, situated on the Inhul, Inhul River. It serves as the administrative center of Kirovohrad Oblast. Population: Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name several times. The settlement ...

, is a national historic site. Talented Ukrainian actors who've appeared on the Berezil stage include: Amvrosiy Buchma, Maryan Krushelnytsky, Olimpia Dobrovolska, Oleksandr Serdyuk, Natalya Uzhviy, and Yuriy Shumsky.

Theater Companies

Theater in Ukraine includes music-drama theaters, theaters of

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, theaters of

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

, puppet theaters and others. Ten theaters were officially recognized as national. There are more than 120 theatres (state-funded and independent) in Ukraine, and the audience numbers around 5.6 million per year. Notable theaters include The Dakh Contemporary Arts Center opened in 1994

Books about ''Ukrainian drama and theater''

''History of Ukrainian drama'' The book is written by the Ukrainian critic and translator Ivan Stichenko. It consists of five chapters. It is the first illustrated history of Ukrainian theater. It discusses historical issues, about ''The Development of Theater Art'', and about ''Latin-Slavic folk rituals, Latin-German folk rituals''. Drama and "The Evangelization of Christianity in ''Ukraine''.'' The book also gives an analysis of the works of the satirical poet and writer ''Theophanes Prokopovych ''Theater and Drama: A Collection of Critical Essays on Dramatic Theater and Literature'' It is a collection of the most important articles of Mykola Kindratovych Voronyi (1871–1938), on the art of theater and theater literature, and what is the work of actors and directors, the nature of the audience, and, what are the ways that may contribute to the development of theater in the future.

References

Bibliography

Larissa M. L. Onyshkevych. „Ukrainian Theater.” In ''Ethnic Theater in America,'' 525-48. Ed. Maxine Schwartz Seller. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1982. Reprinted as “Ukrainian American Theatre”, in ''The Ukrainian Heritage in America''. Ed. W. Dushnyk. New York, Ukr. Coord.Com. in the U.S., 1991, 221-229. Larissa M. L. Onyshkevych. “Toronto’s Avant-Guard Ukrainian Theatre”. ''The Ukrainian Weekly''. April 17, 1986. 9, 15. Larissa M. L. Zaleska Onyshkevych. "Volodymyr Kuchynsky’s ‘Les Kurbas Theatre’ from Lviv.” ''Slavic & East European Performance.'' 15(422), 2, 1996, 68—73. Larissa M. L. Onyshkevych. “''Inspector General'' from Kyiv on Stage in Philadelphia”, ''Slavic and East European Performance''. 25, 2, spring 2005, 80-84. Larissa M. L. Onyshkevych. “’White Butterflies, Plaited Chains: A Live Metamorphosis by Theatre-in-a-Basket from Lviv, Ukraine.” ''Slavic & East European Performance''. 26, 1, 2006, 84—90. Larissa M. L. Zaleska Onyshkevych. “Echoes of Chornobyl at the LaMama Theater”. ''The Ukrainian Weekly''. Feb. 16, 1992, 10, 18. Larissa M. L. Onyshkevych. “The Kurbas Theatre’s Productions of ''Marusia Churai'' and ''Kaminnyi Hospodar'' n Lviv ''The Ukrainian Weekly'', March 22, 1988, 10,13. Larissa M. L. Onyshkevych. “On the Stages of Ukraine in 1990: From Sholom Aleichem to Mykola Kulish.” ''Slavic and East European Performance'', 11, no.1 (1991): 49-57. Irena R. Makaryk. ''About the Harrowing of Hell. A 17th Century Ukrainian Play in its European Context. (Dovehouse, 1989)''

External links

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

الأدب الأوكرانى

Theaters' website from Ukraine

Ukrainian theatrical world

teatre.com.ua

Magazine «Cinema-Theater»
{{World topic, Theater in, noredlinks=yes Culture of Ukraine