Current Meaning-Creating Connotations of the Republishment of "Memories" by Yosyp Hirniak (2022)

The article analyses the content of Yosyp Hirniak's memoirs in the light of the contemporary specifics of Ukrainian film directing and acting and the realities of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In particular, the main episodes of this book are highlighted, which are related to the change in the geopolitical situation of Ukraine and its impact on the quality of the cultural front, the artistic activity of Les Kurbas, and the creative contribution of Yosyp Hirniak to the development of the Berezil phenomenon. Yosyp Hirniak's “Memories” is defined as an example of the alternative history of Berezil and the socio-cultural flow of the first third of the twentieth century. The purpose of the study is to identify the meaning-making connotations of the republished book of memoirs by Yosyp Hirniak, to determine the main vectors of the author's thought that outline the contours of the actor's creative and life destiny on the map of aesthetic and artistic coordinates of the national theatre. Research methodology. The study is based on general scientific methods: analytical (to understand the retrospective of socio-cultural transformations of the first third of the twentieth century), typological, and structural (to analyse the socio-cultural situation of the first third of the twentieth century and compare it with the realities of today) and phenomenological (to determine the nation-centric vectors of Yosyp Hirniak's artistic activity). The scientific novelty of the article lies in the derivation of new meaning-making connotations regarding the reissue of Yosyp Hirniak's memoirs. In particular, the article focuses on the realities of artistic and social life in the first third of the twentieth century, which are in line with the sociopolitical and military events of today; it emphasises the stunning episodes of the actor's life that demonstrate his indomitable and nation-centric orientation and stresses the need to apply the theoretical heritage of Berezil artists in the formation of the modern paradigm of directing and acting. Conclusions. The book of memoirs by Yosyp Hirniak opens the veil on the formation of ideological and artistic concepts of national directing and acting in the conditions of ideological pressure and war hardships and encourages contemporary artists to introduce the theoretical heritage of Les Kurbas and his students into the educational process and stage practice.