Ukrainian Shakespeare Festival Opens with Emotional Tribute to POWs
The Shakespeare festival in Ivano-Frankivsk did not begin with a play. Instead, a different kind of performance unfolded outside the theater—one that reflected the real tragedies of war rather than the dramatic tales of fallen kings.
Hundreds gathered in a demonstration calling for the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war, many of whom are still held by Russian forces. Two women clutched a flag bearing the face of a loved one, their eyes wet with tears. A young girl in a blue dress held a sign reading, *“Be their voice.”* Another sign read, *“Without you, I am nothing.”*
Later that evening, attendees watched a striking production of Romeo and Julie, staged in an abandoned factory and the theater’s dim basement—a haunting depiction of young lives destroyed by forces beyond their control.
The festival’s director, Iryna Chuzhynova, explained the decision to go ahead with the event despite Ukraine’s ongoing struggle. During the opening reception, she acknowledged the difficult choice but stated, “We agreed that art is not just entertainment today.”
She later added, “Theater may create the illusion of peace, but we are not at peace. We need to stand together. Tragedy makes rituals like these necessary.”
Chuzhynova described Ukraine’s current reality as a time where normal life and war exist side by side, an unsettling overlap. One actor from *Romeo and Juliet* was absent—he had recently enlisted and was already at the front.
This is the festival’s second year after its 2024 debut. Despite the war, Shakespeare’s works are thriving across Ukraine. Kyiv’s theaters are staging *King Lear*, *Othello*, *A Midsummer Night’s Dream*, *Hamlet*, and *Macbeth*.
Yuri Andrukhovych, a renowned poet and translator who adapted the festival’s *Romeo and Juliet*, remarked, “Shakespeare’s world always connects to ours—especially now, with themes of fear, betrayal, and human suffering.”
While the festival included lighter works like *The Comedy of Errors* and *Much Ado About Nothing*, the focus leaned toward tragedy. Alongside *Romeo and Juliet*, productions of *King Lear*, *Richard III*, and *Macbeth* were featured.
“It’s important to have a place for tears,” Chuzhynova said.
Ivano-Frankivsk, nestled in Ukraine’s southwest, lies far from the frontlines, yet the war's weight is felt deeply here.
