Romeo and Juliet: From a Performance for Teenagers to an Innovative Dramatic Performance in the Time of War

Yuliia Shchukina; Liudmyla Vaniuha

doi:10.18778/2083-8530.31.18

Authors

Yuliia Shchukina Ivan P. Kotliarevskyi National University of Arts in Kharkiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8329-6828
Liudmyla Vaniuha Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University in Ternopil, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0851-0067

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/2083-8530.31.18

Keywords:

performance, Romeo & Juliet, Ivano-Frankivsk Drama Theatre, post-apocalyptic theatre, Russo-Ukrainian war

Abstract

The article offers an overview of the reception history of Romeo and Juliet in Ukraine. In the Ukrainian lands that were part of the Russian Empire, Romeo and Juliet began to be staged at Russian-language theatres at the end of the 19th century. In the Ukrainian SSR, the tragedy was performed in Ukrainian translations from the late 1930s. Leading theatres in independent Ukraine also adapted Romeo and Juliet. For instance, the Frankivsk Drama Theatre (2021, directed by Rostyslav Derzhypilskyi) staged Romeo & Juliet using Yurii Andrukhovych’s translation. Since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war, this performance has been experimental in its spatial design and approach to the characters, reflecting the pain of the time.

Author Biographies

Yuliia Shchukina, Ivan P. Kotliarevskyi National University of Arts in Kharkiv, Ukraine

Yuliia Shchukina, PhD in Art Studies, Associate Professor, Head at the Department of Theater Studies at the Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts, Ukraine, an active member of The National Union of Theatre Workers of Ukraine. She is the author of thirty reviews of performances based on the works of Shakespeare in Ukraine. In 2023, she was a participant of the international online project “Stage Shakespeare: Masterclasses in Theater Criticism” (ESRA, The National Union of Theatre Workers of Ukraine) and the Ivano-Frankivsk International Shakespeare Festival, Ukraine (2024). Her latest publications are “Romeo @ Juliet, Rostyslav Derzhypilskyi: «Have you ever watched Romeo and Juliet with a helmet on?»” (Shakespeare en devenir, 2024), Romeo and Juliet Dramma per musica, co-written with Liudmyla Vaniuha (Shakespeare Bulletin, 2024), co-edited with Nataliya Torkut.
Liudmyla Vaniuha, Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University in Ternopil, Ukraine

Liudmyla Vaniuha, Candidate of Arts, Professor, Honoured Arts Worker of Ukraine, head of Theatre Arts Department Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University, Ukraine. In 2023, she was a participant of the international online project “Stage Shakespeare: Masterclasses in Theater Criticism” (ESRA, The National Union of Theatre Workers of Ukraine) and the Ivano-Frankivsk International Shakespeare Festival, Ukraine (2024). Her latest publication is “Romeo @ Juliet, Rostyslav Derzhypilskyi: «Have you ever watched Romeo and Juliet with a helmet on?»” (Shakespeare en devenir, 2024), Romeo and Juliet Dramma per musica, co-written with Yuliia Shchukina (Shakespeare Bulletin, 2024), co-edited with Nataliya Torkut.

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