Eight Short Compositions on the Lives of Ukrainians for a Western Audience

Archa - Centre of Documentary Theatre (Czech Republic)

Image description: On a pitch black stage, three women's faces are illuminated from below with flashlights. Their shadowy expressions are serious, as though peering into an unknown darkness.
  • Thu Jan 22 8PM
  • Fri Jan 23 8PM
Price $39/$59
Runtime 65min
Accessibility

Presented with

  • Vancouver Poetry House

Empathy // Resilience // Fragility

In Eight Short Compositions on the Lives of Ukrainians for a Western Audience, the political becomes profoundly personal. 

Drawn from the words of Ukrainian playwright Anastasiia Kosodii, this delicate yet piercing work meditates on the ordinary moments that fracture under the weight of war—boiling water, harvesting fruit, sleeping in one’s own bed.

Across languages and borders, five performers gather to honour the small acts of living that survive in the shadow of war. Through text projection, music, movement, and light, they weave a collective reflection on distance, empathy, and responsibility—how to stand beside those whose lives are under siege. In its quiet sincerity, the piece invites us to listen: to the grain of a voice, the tremor of solidarity, the fragile beauty of life persisting against the noise of devastation.

Funded in part by the Shevchenko Foundation and the Temerty Foundation.

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Artist Bio

Archa – Centre of Documentary Theatre

Czech Republic

Archa – Centre for Documentary Theatre continues the work its founders Ondřej Hrab and Jana Svobodová carried out for over 30 years at the renowned Archa Theatre in Prague. The Centre operates both locally and internationally. It actively collaborates with international theatres and artists, as well as with the rural community in the village of Dvakačovice, where it now focuses much of its activity. The Centre produces theatre performances, organizes the International Summer School of Documentary Theatre, hosts artistic residencies and workshops both in the Czech Republic and abroad. Its work focuses on documentary and socially specific theatre projects that emphasize collaboration between professional artists and representatives of diverse social groups.

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Venue

Waterfront Theatre

1412 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, Vancouver

Showtimes & Tickets

Standard: $39 // Generous: $59

Thu Jan 22 8PM
Post-show talkback
Fri Jan 23 8PM
Performance Notes Standard Generous
Thu Jan 22 8PM Post-show talkback
Fri Jan 23 8PM

If you have the financial means, consider choosing the Generous price option. Learn more about Choose-Your-Rate pricing.

Accessibility

Icon signalling a performance with surtitles

Alternating English, Ukrainian, Dutch, Swedish, and Irish with English and Ukrainian surtitles

Credits

Concept and Direction Jana Svobodová Text Anastasiia Kosodii Dramaturgy Ondřej Hrab English Translation Pavlo Hrytsak Co-created and Performed by Rosa Berman, Amanda Doherty, Lotta Karlsson, Zov Vélez, Mariia Kosiichuk (from audio recording) Music Lotta Karlsson, Rosa Berman English Text Editing Zov Vélez Sound Design Jan Sedláček, Lotta Karlsson Lighting Design Pavel Kotlík Video Martin Krupa

With the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic

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