The Most Star-Studded Theatrical Premiere of the Autumn. First Photos

Amid the fears, today we managed to see a pre-premiere screening of the project KASS_ANDRA. It brought together on one stage stars from two leading Kyiv ensembles—the Lesia Ukrainka Theatre and the Ivana Franka Theatre—and not only them.

In this production, the dramatic poem by Lesia Ukrainka, Cassandra, is boldly combined with ancient myths and a modern interpretation of wartime experience, shifting the focus to memory, the feminine voice, and the inevitability of the truth: from 'people don’t need the truth, they want to live well' to 'the truth will save the world'.

But to catch all the subtle meanings, the audience certainly needs to bring Western optics: we are reinterpreting a classical text through European theatrical language. At times it seems that the directors’ vision gives familiar plots new dimensions. The project was worked on by Polish director Grzegorz Jadzina along with an international team.

The acting ensemble… One could get dizzy from the long list of superstars: Akmal Hurezov, Yevhen Nyshchuk, Olga Goldis, Tetiana Khimina, Vitaliy Azhnov, Natalya Dolya, Natalya Kobizka, Pavlo Tekuchev, Oleksandr Yatsentjuk...

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But as the unforgettable Valeriy Lobanovsky used to say, it’s better to create a star team than a team of stars. Whether the creators of KASS_ANDRA managed to unite bright and unique stars of the Ukrainian stage into a flawless ensemble is something you should see for yourself and form your own impressions.

Special admiration goes to the project producer Oksana Nemchuk, who managed to bring all these people together in one place amid the war. It turned out beautiful. It’s a titanic effort.