Following performances around the country, including at the Kennedy Center, MOTHERMOTHERLAND, a devised performance created by Slovo. Theater Group, comes to New York City for five performances, offering audiences complimentary tickets. 

The play explores motherhood, motherland, and the current war in Ukraine in the styles of Ukrainian avant-garde pioneer Les Kurbas (theatre of movement and gestures), Jacques Lecoq (physical theatre), and post-documentary theatre. MOTHERMOTHERLAND was inspired by the artists’ personal experiences and the novella “I am (a Romantic),” written by revolutionary Ukranian writer Mykola Khvylovy in 1924 and ultimately banned by the Soviet Union. 

In Khvylovy’s autobiographical novella, the head of the local Cheka, the feared Soviet secret police, is charged with executing resisters to the Soviet regime, and must decide whether or not to sentence his own mother to death.

Slovo. Theater Group was founded in April 2022 by Audrey Rose Dégez to fight against the oppression of Ukrainian culture by promoting Ukrainian culture abroad. MOTHERMOTHERLAND was co-created with Ukrainian artists Daria Holovchanska, Yulia Linnik, Maksym Panchenko, Veronika Shuster, and Olesya Zakharova. Mr. Panchenko received an exemption to Ukraine’s adult male travel ban to travel to the United States and create this piece, but he has since returned to Ukraine and is currently serving as a volunteer assisting the military. Infant Lili Maritchka Dégez also performs with the company. 

Performances take place January 11-15 (Wed-Sat, 7 pm; Sun, 3 pm) at A.R.T./New York Theatres, a fully ADA-accessible venue, located at 502 West 53rd Street, NYC 10019. 

An afterparty with a live DJ follows the performance on Fri, January 13. Talkbacks follow the performances on Sat, January 14 and Sun, January 15. MOTHERMOTHERLAND runs approximately 55 minutes. 

Tickets are FREE, but must be reserved. Visit: https://mothermotherland.eventbrite.com.

For additional details, visit: colab-arts.org/mothermotherland.