Slovo. Theater Group: Mothermotherland

A theater troupe formed by Ukrainian actors in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of the country present a new performance exploring motherland.

Slovo. Theater Group was founded in April of 2022 by Audrey Rose Dégez, to fight on the cultural front against oppression of Ukrainian culture by promoting Ukrainian culture abroad. Scheduled to write and workshop a play at Residency Slovo in Kharkiv, Ukraine in September and October of 2022, Audrey Rose chose the short story “I am (a Romantic)” by Exterminated Renaissance author Mykola Khyvylovy as inspiration. She had hoped to research the topic of Motherland and to raise awareness about the cyclical nature of history and cultural oppression in Ukraine. In this 1924 novella, a man must decide whether or not to execute his own mother to protect his idea of a commune beyond the hills. To make the work possible despite the invasion, Audrey Rose selected 5 artists from Kharkiv: actress and puppeteer Daria Holovchanska, actress and PR manager Yuliia Linnik, actor and director Maksym Panchenko, actress, director, and organizer Olesia Zakharova, and artist, dancer, and linguist Veronika Shuster to join her and her daughter Lili Maritchka Dégez in her birth town of Pittsburgh; and since May the group has been devising an original performance in the styles of Les Kurbas, Jacques Lecoq, and post-documentary theater. Mothermotherland is an exploration of motherland, maternity, and self through the lens of the short story “I am (a Romantic)”. The piece is the first original performance co-written and co-directed by the members of Slovo. Theater Group. Donations to support Slovo. Theater Group and their work are welcome at www.colab-arts.org/donate (please write Ukraine in the additional information section).