12 September 2026, 20:41
A performance about Crimea, memory, and the future was staged in Odesa
Ця стаття також доступна українською
PHOTO: Intent
On Saturday, September 12, Odessa’s “Lyuty” Theater presented the premiere of the performative documentary “Koloniya | degil. Ne | Koloniya”—a production about the lost Crimea, decolonization, and the future of the peninsula’s indigenous people.
The premiere took place at the Green Theater. An Intenta photojournalist attended the performance.
According to the creators, the performance is a personal story about Home, lost and ravaged by the occupiers. The team sought to raise questions about how Ukrainians envision a liberated Crimea and whether society is ready to overcome prejudices regarding the role of the Crimean Tatars in the future political system.
At the heart of the performance is Crimean Tatar trip-hop musician, songwriter, and performer Aziza Iskender. The production also features Hanna Shestakova, Oleg Shevchuk, Olena Savchenko-Bezverkhova, Tymofii Bezverkhov, and Yulia Stelmakh. Galina Dzhikaeva directed the production .
Dzhikaeva explained that the idea for the play arose after a scandal involving a Tatar restaurant, when the owner made remarks about the deportation of an entire people.
“It really got under my skin, and I realized what this play should look like,” the director said.
According to her, the team sought to combine documentary theater with Iskender’s artistic work—her songs, music, performances, and paintings.
Dzhikaeva noted that interviews with Crimean Tatars were recorded for the play, and the theater’s actors convey their stories from the stage. In addition, the team spoke with an opponent of Crimean Tatar autonomy and an independent expert on conflict resolution.
“We wanted to have a general discussion so that people would first and foremost understand what deportation is,” the director explained.
The musician described her participation in the play as an extremely important personal experience.
“This is a play about justice, about memory, about respect,” Iskender noted.
According to her, the production raises questions about decolonizing perspectives on Crimea and the peninsula’s indigenous peoples.
Actress and manager of the “Lyuty” Theater, Anna Shestakova, said that the idea of creating a play about Crimea had been brewing for a long time.
“Why haven’t we done a play about Crimea yet?” she recalled asking the director.
According to Shestakova, over the summer the team collected interviews and documented material, while Iskender composed original music and created several paintings for the production.
