Creative and Organisational Activity of Kyiv Theatres: One Hundred Days in the Reality of Full-Scale Military Aggression

The purpose of the research is to study the experience and identify the main trends of Kyiv theatres’ creative and organisational activity in the first days of the full-scale war by the Russian Federation against Ukraine. Research methodology. The author has applied the method of synthesis and analysis of factual information for an integrated study of the Kyiv theatres case in the specified period; the historical method is for retrospective scientific understanding of the practice of modern Ukrainian theatre, and structural and analytical are for systematisation of various vectors of creative and organisational activity of 23 professional state theatre groups of Kyiv; comparative – to compare its results; art critic – for studying the artistic value of theatrical performances. The source base of the research was open Internet resources and interviews with subjects of dramatic activity. Scientific novelty. For the first time, the study collected, systematised and analysed the facts and traced the main trends of the creative and organisational activity of theatre groups of Kyiv in the first hundred-day period of military aggression by Russia against Ukraine in 2022. Conclusions. There is no yet comprehensively art studies scholars’ understanding of the activities of theatre groups of Ukraine during the 2022 wartime. Collected and analysed by the author’s files prove that the theatrical processes that took place during the period can be conditionally divided into two phases: in connection with the introduction of martial law and active hostilities in Kyiv and Kyiv oblast from 24 February to 1 April – the phase of the complete suspension of public theatrical activity and the transfer performances to stabilise the situation; in connection with the stabilisation of the military situation in region from 2 April to 3 June – a period of long revival with new forms of public theatre activity: return to perform in Kyiv and renewing of touring activities. The main problems of the one-hundred-days period were theatre staffing because some workers were forced to flee from Kyiv; the absence of an appropriate number of theatres in cities with reliable shelters or near them; transport and fuel crisis; and curfew conditions. The financial and economic activity was extremely unprofitable, and the main sources of financial funding for the collectives accumulated previous reserves and state support significantly reduced. Some theatre buildings, particularly the Kyiv Small Opera House, were damaged and need to be restored. There is a purposeful rejection of theatres from Russian-language content. The weekly intensity of the shows decreased to 2-3 shows. The theatres’ repertoire included productions of the pre-war repertoire and newly created programmes of small studios’ forms of education and musical-poetic direction. In April-May, most theatres return to rehearsals; there are some premieres. In total, 61% of the 23 Kyiv theatre groups under research resumed their work, albeit in a restricted mode, within a one-hundred-day period, and 39% were at a standstill but are seeking to return to work.