Director: Yevheniia Vidishcheva
Playwright: Andrii Bondarenko
Performers: Andrii Barmalii (saxophone), Andrii Sokolov (electronic music), Marusia Ionova (voice), Nadiia Golubtsova (voice), Oleksandr Yavdyk (drums)
VJ: Pavlo Sirko
Costume Design: Oleksandra Verkhovska
Visual Design: Oleksandra Kovalova
Heroines: Anya Hrechkina and Nastya Hrechkina
Producers: Vidlik Projects and NASHi.etc Present (Ukraine)

Premiere: 2023
Duration: 120 min
Language: Ukrainian with English and Lithuanian surtitles
* Intense sound is used in the performance.

“Do you have a safe space?”
“I did.”
“Tell me about it.”
“My granny and her home. She couldn’t solve my problems, but at least she didn’t make them worse. She simply told me – ‘Nastya! Everything will work out!’ Granny never criticized me like mom did. She would make me pancakes in the morning and life would be happy again.”

Quote from the performance

Anna and Anastasiia Hrechkina are twin sisters, artists, and activists from Mariupol, Ukraine. They were dedicated to transforming their city through educational and artistic projects, even dreaming of one day opening their own vegan café and recycling shop.

On February 24, 2022, the sisters woke up to a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine outside their window, becoming living witnesses to the tragedy of their city. The three weeks, days, and minutes of the siege of Mariupol, alongside the sisters’ lives, are reflected in their diaries, which are voiced in the performance by actresses Marusia Ionova and Nadiia Holubcova.

Blending music and authentic experiences, Misto Marii: The Siege Diaries opens a window to a space where we experience firsthand how quickly daily life can turn into a nightmare. Live on stage, the performers blend various musical genres and traditional Ukrainian folk songs, including those from the Donetsk region. The soundscape envelops the audience, while images of the sisters’ childhood home videos are juxtaposed against chilling news clips exposing the horrors of blockaded Mariupol.

Note from the Artists

Today, Ukraine is the frontline of the largest ground war since WWII. But Ukrainians know that they have been at the frontline of information warfare for much longer. For decades, Russia has attempted to destroy Ukraine through propaganda and russification. They used culture, art, and false testimony to erase the Ukrainian national identity. Now we see these tactics spreading and strengthening through political strongmen across the globe – Putin, Modi, Orban, Trump.

Anna and Anastasiia’s story is greater than just a tale of survival. It reclaims Ukrainian stories and tells them through Ukrainian voices.

We hope that Misto Marii makes space for a sincere discussion with the world about the war taking place at the heart of Europe and the solidarity needed to defeat tyranny once and for all.

About the artists

Yevheniia Vidishcheva is a director of theatrical and musical projects that create a space for reflection. She is also a producer of artistic projects and a co-founder of Vidlik projects. Working on documentary projects with social and political themes, her recent focus has been on war and its consequences.

Andrii Bondarenko is a playwright and founder of the Theatre of Playwrights, working with social and political themes, combining subtle psychological nuances. His plays have been staged in various theatres in Ukraine and abroad.

Nadiia Golubtsova and Marusia Ionova (Mariia&Magdalyna) are artists working in theatrical-musical form, exploring Ukrainian literature and providing modern contexts and new sounds through collaboration with various musicians.

Andrii Martynenko (Andrii Barmalii) is a cross-sectoral artist, performer and composer. The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic inspired him to actively create music, and the full-scale Russian war in Ukraine pushed him to reject social isolation and start a solo project. Andrii reflects on personal and social crises, transforming feelings into musical and physical performances.

Oleksandr Yavdyk is an artist and drummer with 13 years of experience. His years of practice and a refined sense of the world allow him to improvise and create voluminous sounds in various musical and theatrical projects.

Andrii Sokolov (Walakos) is an artist, electronic musician, and composer. His main genres include fusion of breakbeat, IDM, and predominantly dark, lyrical styles. When creating music, Andrii works with dramaturgy and contexts.

Pavlo Hunko (Pavlo Sirko) is an artist and VJ. The overarching idea and goal of his artistic works are to see and touch the unreal in real life, mixing media, various devices, and technological solutions.

Producers

NASHi Experimental Theatre Club is dedicated to empowering emerging theatre artists in Ukraine to create new and innovative performing arts programming for a global audience. Our mission is to uplift the inherently diverse stories of the Ukrainian people as they wrestle with the complexities of good and evil under the shadow of war.

Vidlik projects is a team working on artistic projects, meanings, and contexts.

Events website: http://www.sirenos.lt