How the largest theater in Kherson region defends historical justice and resists enemy propaganda

Today, Ukrainian theater has become a center not only of culture, but also of powerful resistance, the struggle for Ukrainian identity and historical justice. A striking example is the Mykola Kulish Kherson Regional Music and Drama Theater. Its staff survived the occupation, bravely resisted the enemy on the main square and streets of Kherson, and today continues to defend their cause on and off stage. In particular, with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, the theater opened a museum called"Theater Kherson: From the Origins to the Present." The project was created to preserve the memory of the city' s theatrical life, popularize cultural heritage, understand the role of theater in the history of Kherson, and research real facts, instead of what was imposed by Soviet ideology for decades. Read more in Intent's article.

An opportunity that has been sought for a long time

The idea to create a museum came to the staff of the Mykola Kulish Kherson Regional Academic Music and Drama Theater long before the full-scale invasion. In particular, they were even working on a book about the history of the theater. The necessary materials and developments were collected and sent to a local printing house. However, it was not published due to a number of circumstances.

"It so happened that the printing house was first damaged by a fire, then visited by the occupiers, and after the de-occupation of Kherson, it was repeatedly damaged by enemy shelling. Therefore, the book could not be published. Nevertheless, we were optimistic that we would do it someday. Moreover, we will create a space where the true history of the theater life of our city will come to life for every guest. And fortunately, we succeeded," says Oleksandr Kn iga, General Director and Artistic Director of the Mykola Kulish Kherson Regional Academic Music and Drama Theater, People's Artist of Ukraine.

"It is quite difficult to create something like this in a frontline city, physically, financially and safely, but the theater staff continued to look for opportunities. So when they heard about the grant program "Culture. Regions" grant program from the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, they immediately joined in.

"Thanks to the well-coordinated work and support of the theater's loyal friends, everything worked out. We managed to get the opportunity we have been looking for for a long time, and by realizing our plan, we will show the true history of the theater so that it lives in our memory, and not on the dusty shelves of the archives. We need everyone to remember that there was a whole galaxy of gifted actors, directors, stage managers, playwrights, screenwriters who created and delighted in Ukrainian Kherson," notes Oleksandr Kniga.

It was put together bit by bit

The project took almost three months to complete. A large creative team of the theater conducted in-depth research: they searched through existing archives, collected memories, photos, old posters, and theater relics. This allowed them not only to obtain valuable materials but also to discover previously unknown pages of the theater's history.

"It was a lot of work. After the occupation, everything was literally collected bit by bit. So we are extremely grateful to everyone who responded. People kindly provided photos, postcards, and recorded memories of their relatives who were somehow involved in the life of the theater. We also worked closely with local museums. Thanks to this, we learned a lot of interesting facts, in particular about the personalities who once shone on our stage. These are Volodymyr Begma, Oleksandr Horbenko, and many others whom we must tell the younger generation about," says the theater director.

PHOTO: Mykola Kulish Theater

Many items for the collection of the future museum were collected before the war, but after the occupation of the city they disappeared. The theater assumes that they were destroyed, taken away, or simply stolen, which is quite typical for Russians. Thus, the fate of the poster for the play Russian People is still unknown.

"A long time ago, one of our viewers gave the theater's archive a 1943 poster printed on a sheet of old wallpaper. The play was called "Russian People," so perhaps it was these "people" who took it away. But remembering this poster and studying other posters, we noticed that earlier the vast majority of them were written in Russian, but in the 1960s they were also full of nightingale language. Even the touring ones. That is, there was a surge when, despite repressions and bans, our language lived in the cultural space, albeit under the close supervision of the Soviet authorities. But when the imperial language began to prevail again, there was a new wave of Russification," explains Oleksandr Andriyovych.

In addition, the creative team was able to find out many more important historical facts, correct inaccuracies in dates, and refute some of the statements that have been making us think wrong for years.

PHOTO: Mykola Kulish Theater

Getting back what is ours

One of the mandatory stages of the work was to check the available information for historical accuracy. After all, in different periods of our history, Soviet ideology became a factor that successfully distorted reality and wrote the history of Ukrainians in its own way. The Soviet government often used theaters to distract people from their crimes and create the illusion that everything was fine. Even the dates of their founding were written in official documents according to government orders, instead of the real ones. Therefore, the theater's creative team also investigated this issue to establish historical justice and tell guests and citizens when theater life in the Kherson region actually began.

Oleksandr Andriyovych says: "We have repeatedly talked about this topic even before the full-scale invasion. The official date of the foundation of our theater is November 6, 1936, when the premiere of the play "The Victors of Death" by V. Vlasov took place and the Kherson City Ukrainian Drama Theater was opened. But the history of theater life in the region has much deeper roots than the one offered by the Soviet version. It dates back to the 1830s, when the first performances of amateur actors took place in a building that belonged to the Kherson intelligentsia. These people did not have Russian surnames, and Kherson was a purely European city at the time."

An equally important issue that the Soviet authorities interpreted in their favor was the fate of the famous Ukrainian playwright Mykola Kulish, after whom the Kherson theater is named. He was accused of being a nationalist simply because he wanted to be a Ukrainian on his own land and write about what was important to his society. This destroyed the veil that the Soviet government was building for total control of the people. That is why Mykola Hurovych was shot. And even with the passage of time, his name remains hostile to Russians.

"When we went to the theater after the de-occupation, there was no information on the memorial plaque or bas-relief of Mykola Hurovych. It turned out that the plaque had been destroyed, and the bas-relief was covered with an ordinary wreath of flowers, but this was not surprising. When I was interrogated by the Russian special services, one of their questions was: "Why is your theater named after Kulish?" I explained that he was our fellow countryman, a famous playwright who made a great contribution to the development of theater and culture in our region. Unfortunately, they had a different understanding... Just think, if he hadn't been shot, how many more wonderful plays he would have written... Foreign critics still call him the Ukrainian Shakespeare. This is worth a lot. That is why our task is to bring our own back to the consciousness of our citizens, to popularize our artists, our culture, to remind them of the names of the people who shaped it. And not to give a single chance for it to be forgotten," notes Oleksandr Kniga.

PHOTO: Mykola Kulish Theater

This is not just a room

The collected and processed volume of materials allowed the project's creative team to create a rich and diverse exhibition with 13 thematic parts. All of them allow guests and visitors to the theater not only to get acquainted with the pages of its history, but also to look behind the scenes of theater life with all its specifics and uniqueness.

"Our museum is not just a room that theaters usually keep artifacts related to their life. It is the theater itself. Starting from the front part of the building, guests already have the opportunity to get acquainted with the theater's achievements, historical achievements, and feel a certain litmus test, because they see how a performance is created. Unique works of artistic directors, models for performances, costume sketches, posters, and more help to do this. And then everything flows into the official history of the theater, portraits of famous personalities - theater employees, our defenders and many more interesting and important things," says Oleksandr Kniga.

PHOTO: Mykola Kulish Theater

Everyone who wants to get acquainted with the museum's exposition is welcomed by the theater staff and helped in this. In particular, during such visits, one can hear many stories about talented Kherson residents who had unique acting abilities and skills.

Oleksandr Andriyovych notes: "When a viewer enters our shelters, we try to show them around our corridors, show them the glorious theatrical history of Kherson and bring them back to the origins of the theater. We are proud to tell our theater youth and guests about Leonid Andriyovych Lytvynenko, People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR. He is a unique person and a brilliant actor. I am happy to have seen performances with his participation. When he went on stage, the halls were filled with powerful energy that pressed you into your chair and gave you goosebumps. He had only three grades of education and no professional education at all, went through World War II from Kherson to Berlin and back, and despite Soviet laws, he conquered the authorities with his talent, receiving the title of People's Artist. In our museum, you can now learn about many more talented personalities who have left a tangible mark on the history of Kherson and theater."

Theater is a symbol of hope for Kherson residents

Despite the fact that the grant for the museum has been used up, the project team continues to work, as they have many more ideas and plans. As the security situation in Kherson complicates the work and does not always allow them to receive guests, the theater is working on creating an online format that will allow for virtual tours. In addition, they plan to create memorial rooms.

"Famous actors used to prepare for performances in the dressing rooms of our theater, but now young people are there. They need to know who sat on these chairs before them and looked in the same mirror while making up for a performance. Many famous film actors and people's artists started on our Kherson stage. For example, the talented Viktor Zhdanov, or the world-famous singer Oksana Petrusenko. There are many examples, and young people should realize that the prospects are huge. That is why we are continuing this story and will be grateful to everyone who will help us with valuable materials from personal archives, information, etc. We will accept everything with pleasure and gratitude," says Oleksandr Kniga.

PHOTO: Mykola Kulish Theater

Another big dream of the theater's staff is to return to the forest stage on the temporarily occupied left bank of the Kherson region and perform their favorite performances there again. To make this dream come true as soon as possible and bring the long-awaited peace, the theater is fighting its own battle, in which art is the main weapon. Thus, during the tour, the Kherson theater tells the Ukrainian and foreign audience about the realities of the Russian occupation, about the war, about how the enemy is trying to destroy our nation, culture and country as a whole.

The theater's general director and artistic director, Oleksandr Book, emphasizes: "The conscious world supports and understands us, and this gives us strength. Therefore, we will not rest on our laurels, but will definitely continue to tell our audience the truth, explore the theatrical history of the region and the city, and of course write a new story - a real, sincere and beautiful one. Today, the Kherson Theater is a symbol of hope that good times are still ahead. As long as the theater exists and works, we will survive. We are truly a support for the people in the city, as they are for us. So we will do everything we can to feel like masters of our land."

PHOTO: Mykola Kulish Theater

Ганна Компаніченко