 I'm in Saqqedin, Canada, Steven, the place where they both live. We have the audience and the participants always gather. We can actually practice and start on practice as close as we can. Examples of women sharing what it is they can do, sharing how they can do that. There's no way you can ignore that feeling anymore. We're from all over the world. You can come and see me talk about it. What time is it now, Kenya? It started out about different people and about different things. A whole scene. A whole drama. Theater for everybody. Yes, everybody. Let's get what's really done. Have to do it completely quickly. And in you, my understanding of life, relationships, death, have already changed. To the Martinis Segal Center here at the Graduate Center CUNY, my name is Frank Enschke, and I am the director of programs. And it's a very important day in our year. Here is the opening of the Penn World Voices Festival. We really think this is at the heart and center of what we do. It is one of the most significant programs when it comes to playwriting. And I think the collection of international playwrights, mostly is unmatched when it comes to North or South America in a festival. We are thrilled to be part of the Penn World Voices Festival right now over 80 writers from all over the world are here as a guest of Penn, which is the Writers' Organization. And they have the Freedom for Write program. They get writers out of prison. And they promote literature, get off fantastic awards, and really is the most significant literary organization here in the U.S. And the festival is the most significant one. And we are thrilled as the Segal Center to be part of this festival with our plays, which we put together and create together with them. This morning, we had already Patricia Cornelius from Australia here. Patricia, is she over here? Yes. And it was a terrific reading directed by Katie Pearl. And now we come to a contribution from Ukraine. It's Natalia Voroshbit. And she already was here once at the Segal Center. It was the Royal Court at the least auction for the Brooklyn Beach project, a Brighton Beach project. And we are thrilled to have her back here. The translation of the play, Take Out the Rabbish, Sasha is by Sasha Dougal and directed by Sarah Yu. Sarah, where's she? Here she is. You know, I have my reading classes on. So, really, thank you all for coming. We bridge academia in professional theater, international, and American theater. Though this festival is really right at our heart. Penn created this to open up the tunnel vision they feel not enough international work is being read or seen or heard. Over 95% of all books published in the U.S. are in English language, come from the English language, and the rest 5% half of it is from Germany or France because books are subsidized. So we hear very, very little. And as you know, this theater scene in New York, most probably better than I do, you know how little we actually see also on the stages. So this is a serious program to help, to foster, and also listen to masters of that craft from all around the world. With us tonight also this evening is Christian Parker from the head of the Columbia University Theater Program who will then speak with the director and the playwright with Natasha, Sarah, and Sasha himself. And again, thank you for coming. The last thing is, please, if you have a cell phone, take it out for one moment. I'll do the same. And see if it's off. It should be on silent and off. Okay, so thank you very much. And here we go. Sunflower oil into the pan. And you chop the onion and the bacon fat. But finally, mind, by then the oil will be hot enough, spitting. Chop the onion and the fat in and fry them until transparent. Then add a little bit of flour and brown it. Pinch of salt. You want it mixed in well. And that's it. Ready for whatever you're making. Remember it from when I was a kid. Can we have those tomorrow? No. For tomorrow we'll have the plain ones. No fancy stuff. Even cabbage. How many will there be? About 60, I'd say. What if more people come? Well, I've done a good few more. There's plenty. A little bit more herring. It'll make you sick. And dying of hunger. Go on then. Different sorts of sweets are lying on the table. A deep bowl of minced meat. Batteries. Chopped cabbage. A candlestick. And a loaf of black bread. A basket of biscuits. Cellotape. A vase. An old onion quarter. Scissors. A plate of roughly sliced herring. A bill for household charges. You can even look at food. The saddest thing is that you won't see Collya, and he really wanted to see Collya. If he'd wanted that, he wouldn't have left us. Oh, Mom. If he'd wanted to see his grandson, he wouldn't have left us. I remember his reaction when he found out that it was a boy. That said, he said, no more women ruling the roost. It'll be equal now. But it won't. Won't be equal now. Collya won't have a granddad, nor a granddad. He's got a dad, but a hardly much of one. Why don't you talk to him? Maybe he'll come back. He's the only one who listened to him. What, Oleg? No. Not sure. Talk to him. She's right, you know. We really need you. Was there something missing for you? No. Nothing like that. Things were fine. Even if done everything's been fine. Done what? How can he ask? I heard him getting up. Five-thirty things always. I wasn't planning on getting up. I put his clothes out the night before. I heard him go into the bathroom and from there there's an all-mighty crash. I go in and he's just lying there on the ground. His head like this and he's whispering something. No, I don't remember that. He's whispering something. He was still whispering. And I can't bother her. Who am I going to ring? Even now makes me feel... Well, a lot from the morgue turned up and they wrapped him in a carpet to carry him out. Never gave that carpet back. Put that fish away. Smells. Can't stand it. How could you do it to me? You'll spoil the dough. You weren't even having a row before it happened. It was all quiet. We went to bed. You too had a row every day. Oh, so I'm to blame, am I? You were always both to blame. True. You were always on his side. She understood me. Well, no one understood me. Not you, not her. Don't involve me in this. All right? Who's involving you? You relax. You're supposed to be keeping calm. The cabbage is ready. What now? Put the sweets in those favorite bags. 60 bags. Put one of each in. There's eight different sorts. Toffees. Jelly proof. Boiled sweets. You always used to hide them from him. The sweets? We used to eat them all. We never used to leave any, behave like he was the only one in the house. It didn't matter how many you put out. He'd work his way through them, drove me crazy. Well, he was welcome to them. There you go. You come back? You can eat till you choke. What's that supposed to mean? He loved those plain toffees. Didn't I earn enough to have myself a few toffees? That's all you did earn enough for. You weren't wrong there. They didn't poffees you were. Well, now you'll get my pension. 2000. You should have dropped dead long ago. You'll be a rich woman by now. That's not fair. You were carrying him up to drinks. Sweets for all he was allowed. Stop howling and keep calm. The soup went off and instead of chucking it out, you boiled it and gave it to him for lunch. You've got some nerve. Sitting here and saying that? Is that true? It's not true. We'd get the fresh meat he'd get the day before yesterday. Well, what was I supposed to throw it out? Oh, cut. You treated me like a dog. Was there any, was there ever any love? Oh, marvelous. They'll be back before you can say the word. Sasha, come back. Come back where? Did my dog come in? I was joking about the soup. She hasn't eaten anything for nine days now. You must eat. I feel sick. Katya, sweetheart. Sasha, selfish all these born days. That's what it was. Not a real job. Never earned anything in that army. Went off on trips to see his mates. Had his fun. He was a soldier, an officer, a colonel. An officer. An officer. I was the bloody officer. My whole life was a battle. I fought for this place, for the Toyota. My two kiosks. So you could eat nice food and wear smart clothes. And what did I get? Fights with the tax people. The fire officers, competitors. Who's the officer around here? Me. I was an officer in the Ukrainian army. What army? Why? There hasn't been a war since anyone can remember. Just a bunch of big men all pretending to do something. Lazy, so and so's. No money, no glory. Spoon fed by your wives like little babies. No wonder they all laughed at you. You deserved it. Who? Oh, everyone. The ones in charge. You're useless. It's at home they laugh at me. No one laughs at me like you do. Well, go do your work then. You go and limit your work and they can... I won't say another word. That's it. Move the table. What for? Well, look where it is. Girls, you shouldn't. Don't go straightening yourself. Just drag it. Okay, that's enough. See that? Well, what can I do? Well, that's obvious. You can't do anything. You never could, never. Even your teeth I paid for. No, that's not fair. Not fair on who? Well, good was there in it. First ten years you drank, the next ten years you were miserable. You never had a life that there's nothing to look back on. Our holiday in Crimea. Oh, never went abroad because you weren't allowed. I was the USSR freestyle wrestling champion. You might be proud of that. Proud of what? A couple of big deers was all you got. Oh, I got. You never could say a nice word about me. Sasha, I'll say a nice word about you. Is that a lie? No. Always, always is favorite, anyway. We haven't got enough for 60 favorite bags. Well, don't put eight in each. Maybe we could buy some more? I'll clean out as it is. Twenty-two thousand. And then there's the grave stone. Oh, don't bother with a stone. Put it across there. Oh, right, right away. Did we forget to ask you? It would only be a couple of kilos of sweets. Six in each, definitely. It's all the same to me. Where did you put my medals? What do you think I put them? Who the hell wants medals for Soviet champions? The champions are gone and all we're left with is the medals. Even the country's disappeared. But the medals are still here. A fine inheritance I've been left by officer, husband. Where can I sell scrap metal? Where can they sell scrap metal? How much is it going for? Nothing? No way to know. They're in the wardrobe. Don't worry. You barely had a life, Sasha. Come back and finish it off. Get your pension. You won't have to go to that bloody work. I won't nag you. Have as many sweets as you can. We'll take holidays in the country and Egypt in the winter. The only reason I was worried about you retiring was that you'd get bored and start drinking. At work you had the illusion that you were serving someone. But there was some point to you. You kept yourself off the drink. But if you want, you can have a drink. Just a little bit. Cheer you up. A bit of wine. Or whatever you want to drink. Even that homemade stuff Nina makes. What use am I to you? Well, what am I without you? No one to irritate you. You're never irritating me. You'd say anything when you need something. What did I just say? I do understand that I was the wrong man for you. Oh, no. You were the right man. I didn't see it. There's no way back from this. Don't you see? Well, I don't believe it. It just suits you to say that. It's not a work trip, Katya. I see it all now. What? What do you see? Tanya. She said you would leave me. And now it's happened. The dough is rising and it swells over the top of the pan. It's worked up a treat. Sasha used to love my pie. When was the last time you baked pie? When did I have to find it? Either we were doing the place up or paying off a loan and the whole lot fell to me, the wife of an officer. Hey, Sasha just can't get used to him not being here. He's still here with Sasha. Talk to him. Navigate him. Me too. How am I going to get through tomorrow? Nine days it will have been. Then 40 days. And then a year. And each time they'll be here watching, talking about us, judging us. How much food I put on the table. How many people came. What we wore. Have you got something to wear? Oh, that black dress that I wore at the birthday party. It's a bit short. What would happen if we didn't do it? Didn't do what? Didn't do anything tomorrow. For the ninth day. What would happen? What do you mean? No peace for the soul. Your soul? Sasha's. What do you think? Should we book the taxi today? No, tomorrow is fine. Half an hour before and we'll pick up Grandma on the way. Well, Tolik is bringing Grandma to the cemetery. Oh, right. The damn bin is full. Take the brother's house, Sasha. Epitaphs to suit any taste. You took so much of us with you. So much of you is left with us. How hard to find words to say. How pain leaves us bereft and sore. We can't believe you've gone away. You'll be with us forever more. You labored on with many a care. And now you sleep for eternity. So sleep without those heavy cares. Always with you, your family. Standing, weeping over your grave. My bitter tears water the turf. I can't believe my beloved lays below in the cold, dark earth. The sun is shining, but not for me. I lie in the earth and I cannot see. Forgive us that we carry flowers under starry skies to your grave. Forgive us that we breathe the air. That you can never breathe again. You loved angels and a child's laughter. Never plucked the lilac sprays. You might have wished to overthrow the master, but you were a child with innocent ways. And so forgive him, Lord. The cemetery is to the north of the city. A new cemetery. There are many sorts of cemeteries. Old, mysterious ones. Happy ones. Sad ones. But this is a brand new, honest cemetery. One in which you realize that death is not the lot of a chosen few, but the careful reaper of all who will, without a doubt, come for you as well. Have you put the sweets out? Of course I have. They had a shock when they saw the memorial. I bet they did. And then I told them how much I'd paid. They had a shock. Didn't expect that. I'm really happy. God, you can't imagine. Like a load's been lifted. First time in a year, I feel like a load's been lifted. A year ago, we were right on the edge of the cemetery. It's just crazy how many people have died in a year. There's a girl over there, really young. And a child, Christ, born in 2010. That's terrible. They're dying very young. I'm always wondering why Sasha left us so early. Heart disease. He's murdered Christ, Mom. His spirit. He's killed. Well, what, by us? Us. At work. The command? Putting pressure on him all the time. Always making more demands on him. And that boss of his was a shit. As soon as something went wrong, he was threatening him. And they were also scared of being let go. It's not like he wouldn't have found himself work. He'd have been in demand everywhere. Doesn't matter. God sees everything. It'll be payback time soon. Oh. Whoa. It doesn't matter. Just put in another one. Whatever. He's spitting it out? Well, don't give it to him, please. No, I did tell you. I told you before I left. It'll be okay. Espumazin. Give him Espumazin. That was my little sweetie pot. He's spitting out his dummy colic. Espumazin is what he means. That's what I told her. She doesn't know how to handle babies. No, not this again. His granddad was alive, and then everything would be different. And all they wouldn't have gone off. How are those things connected? When I was learning to drive, I met a widow. And she said that after her husband died, her daughter's husband immediately walked out on her. Like, male solidarity or something. You should have called Kolia Sasha. No, I'm sorry, I didn't. Well, call the next one, Sasha. Oh, what if it's a girl? It doesn't matter. Yeah, that's true. I'll call her Sasha. Sasha. My own sweet husband. A year has passed since that terrible day. When you left without saying goodbye. Well, if that's what you decided to do, it must be you knew something. Like God must have called you up into His heavenly army. Light and peace. Rest in peace. Rest in peace. That's right. Just can't be straight. All this year we've been thinking of you and grieving every moment. Baby Koli is the only reason I haven't died of grief. Your grandson. Funny little thing. He looks like you. Next year we'll all come. We left him with his nanny today because it is damp here. Look what a memorial you've got. I hope you're happy with it. I tried my best. And this bit here is for me. God will let me know when we're due to meet again. But for the time being, I'm working. I've got another stall. I can hardly cope when old age isn't helping. But let's not talk about the sad things. It's very hard without you. Not a day has passed when Oxana and I haven't thought about you. But we have to carry on. You rest in peace. But we're still here. For the time being. We are on your sandwich. I'm going to change his name. Which one? I'll register him as Alexandrovich in honor of Sasha. Will you leave Oleg's surname? No, I won't. I'll give him mine. Give him Sasha's? No, that would be a bit odd. He's not a father. That grave over there hasn't been looked after at all. We could at least throw the old flowers away. Although not that odd, really. A boy's got to be proud of his name. His dad's name isn't going to add much. What good can you tell him about his dad? But Sasha, you can tell him a lot about his granddad. You can show him his medals and tell him how he defended you and Uncle Yuro shouted at you. Uncle Yuro was shouting at you because you were 13 and smoking. He was shouting at you because you'd started too early. Sasha told him to mind his own business and sort out his own kids. We'll sort out our own. And Uncle Yuro said, but she's not yours. And Sasha, he took you by the hand like this and he said, she's mine alright. And Uncle Yuro was apologetic. Right up to when we moved. Let's have some more wine. You go to say a speech? In my head. Because I didn't stand up for you when you wanted that glass of champagne at the New Year and long when you came. I was scared to go back on the drink too. Because when you went on the drink, it was funny at first. I'll never forget when you took me to the circus. But by the fourth day of drinking, you just turned into an animal. Now I can see that glass of champagne even now. That's not supposed to ever drink champagne again. And I remember how cross I was with you when you chased off all my admirers. You were right though. They all turned out to be shits. That old lady, when you called a bastard, disappeared off to Russia to work and never came back. And just after you married mom, I spat in your soup. I was a stupid teenager. But all the same, I'm sorry for it now. Poor, poor Sasha. I don't know how you put up with us or why, why people live with each other and put up with each other. Especially mom. All her jealousy and hysterics. And she was always putting you down. Sometimes I wanted to just grab a chair and swing it at her head. Forgive her and forgive me. After you died, I began to think that you were the only man in my life. Neither a lover nor a father. Just a man. If you've got nothing to say to him, why don't you tell us one of your memories? Oh. Oh, I can only think of stupid stuff. Like when a beetle climbed in your ear and Sasha washed it out with homemade vodka. Yes. Remember when a pack of dogs attacked some woman in the town center and Sasha saved her? And then the woman gave him a knife. Bollyya, she was, from Balda Street. Bollyya? Yeah, that was it. He was a man. Remember how he used to turn heads? An officer. Don't make them like that anymore. And his students enjoyed him. And his subordinates. He could be strict, but they respected him. Because he had a sense of humor. He loved playing jokes on people. He never refused me anything. I'd say, Sasha, I need to go somewhere. Get up without saying a word and go. Like when grandma was ill or you were. No questions. Any time of the day or night. I really miss him. In Crimea, you got into a fight with some men from Moscow. You know how they behaved down there. So he fought. I mean, he ripped them to shreds. That was it. They vanished. He brought them down. One against three. I thought he'd kill them. He was a champion sportsman. And he died. With dignity. Not in his bed. Not soiling himself. I had this dream. I didn't want to tell you about it. What? That he hadn't actually died. His death had been faked. Like one of those secret military operations. Instead of him, there was another man's body. Looks like him. And then a year later, he comes back and says, I'm so sorry girls. I had my orders. I had to do it. I couldn't get out of it. So I started yelling at him. How could you? We were in hell. But at the same time, crying and happiness. I woke up in tears and it was all a dream. Burst into tears again. So unfair. Imagine if it had been true. What happens in films? I helped dress him at the morgue. It couldn't have happened. I went and drank to the departed. God rest the soul of... Alexander. Alexander. Still young? His heart went. Thank you. Here. Help yourself. God give you good health. Reminds me a bit of Sasha. Really? You look at Sasha and him. Only the weaklings survive. Shall we pack up? They ever dreamed about him once. He said, move the pension into another bank. I moved it of course. I was really upset. Is that all you've got to say to me? The man who looks like Sasha comes back and takes the plastic cup of vodka, caviar on bread and sweets. He sits down at Sasha's memorial and eats and drinks. Together with the man who looks like Sasha, we see a fresco of Sasha's life. In all the pictures Sasha is wearing a military uniform and medals. Wearing the fight with the drunken arrogant men from Moscow who are trying it out with his girl Katya. One lies defeated on the shore, another runs away, a third begs for mercy. Sasha is ringing the neck of a mad dog. The pack of dogs is dispersing. The woman who was bitten by the mad dog has a shopping trolley in which she has bones to make stock for her family. She reaches out to her savior. Blood trickles from her legs. Sasha carries the young oxana on his shoulders into the circus. Elephants and tigers step aside respectfully. Sasha is carrying his elderly mother-in-law into the hospital. The grim reaper steps aside respectfully. Flying angels part. Doctors and nurses rush to greet them with stretchers. Sasha is pouring a bottle of vodka into the ear of the screaming Katya. Black beetles run away from her in different directions. Twelve pupils listen carefully to Sasha in the sports hall of the Academy where he taught. Sasha has a tragic fall in the bathroom clutching on to his heart. You could even indicate it was a bullet wound, although it wasn't. It was his heart. But the man who looks like Sasha wants to believe. A stove? I'll show you. If there's a power cut or if there's no gas, you can heat the place with wood. It heats the whole house. Plus, it does hot water. Plus, you can cook whatever you want on it. Amazing. All the neighbors have had them put in. You wouldn't believe the waiting list there is for these stoves. Well, it's just people panicking, Mama. Panicking? With Russian tanks on the border and the gas supply about to be switched off and with winter ahead, we'll freeze. Cost me six thousand together with the setup. There was a weight off my mind getting it put in. Thank God. I took all the money out of the bank. When the crisis hits, we'll lose everything. I bought dollars. I ordered another carload of wood. It'll be here tomorrow. You're amazing. And I called out the man who clears wells. I've forgotten the allele. Yeah, I bought in four sacks of potatoes and two onions. All right, so we're fine. You can move in with Kalia. You can spend the winter here. Okay. And a hundred liters of petrol. Enough to get us to Warsaw if needs be. What? Well, there's no petrol and we have to flee. Well, how about if there are no hospitals and I have to give birth? I've worked it all out. Auntie Kalia who sells the candles in the church used to be a midwife. She can take you. What if there are aries? Well, if that happens then this will all be for nothing. Don't be silly. There's a cellar we can hide down there. And then? Well, maybe there won't be any aries. Let's keep positive. All right. Have you got any, Harry? I have. What's wrong? Nothing. You've been watching the news again for goodness' sake. The doctor told you not to. I haven't been watching anything. You're a friend. Look how the woods caught. Remember Grandma's stove? When you were a child she used to... You used to sleep up on the... above the stove. Hush, hush, hush, baby. Don't sleep at the edge of the stove, little lady. Hush, hush. The stove is hot. It smelled of hot seeds. And the whitewash on it came off on your clothes. Grandma used to get hot pies out and make bores. All right, Grandma. She went through things so terrible we can't even imagine. What is the news? Haven't watched television all day. The doctor told me not to watch television. Oh, yes. Quite right. He's worried about me again. He told me I need to keep calm. Well, keep calm then. Are you taking vitamin? Yes. My blood pressure is up. I've measured it today and I can't even bear to say. This morning. Why? He wants to come back. What? You tell her, Sush. Why have I always got to? Well, you've got this war. The men and me, we discussed it and we need to be back here. Well, in order to do what? That's what I said. What? I'm an officer. I can't just lie there. How come that didn't occur to you before, officer? Well, I don't know. If I'd known. If I'd known. Mom's right. You should have thought of it before now. And who said there was no coming back from over there? Well, you know. I do know. If I ask, then, of course, it can't be done. Well, it can't really be done. But if there's a sixth call for mobilization, then it can. What's the sixth call for mobilization? Well, they've mobilized all the living now, the fifth call to the last of the living. But the war keeps on. So, Ikeban, ask us. Ikeban, what are we supposed to tell people? Like, wow, he's at his back. What am I supposed to tell Koya? Oh, look, here's your granddad. And where's Ikeban? It's fine. Lots of us are coming back. Leosha's coming back. And Sergei and Vova, all the officers are. Wasn't worth it before, but it's a different matter now. Who the hell needs you? My country. My family. I'm against it. I'll be straight with you. Why? Well, I don't want you to get killed. What difference would that make now? Exactly. Well, is that what you want? Neat. What? To send him off to war? You need a bit of money for that. Boots, uniform, Kevlar helmet. They're supposed to cost about $500 if you buy them from a trader. We were collecting for one. We couldn't afford that. Sasha. And if we had to bury you again, I couldn't afford it. I'm sorry. That's right. Discussion over. What are you talking about, you two? I made a note. Me, Vova, Sergei, Lyosha. You remember Lyosha? I watched him dying of cancer before my eyes. When we went into the army, we made a solemn oath to the people of Ukraine to be loyal and true to them always and carry out our military duties and the commands of our superior officers conscientiously and honorably and to support the legal constitution of Ukraine and keep any state or military secrets. Me and Vova. Vova took to the trip before he died. Sergei and Lyosha, we swore an oath to defend the Ukraine state and guard our freedom and independence. Me, Vova, and Sergei, he was a colonel as well and he died of a heart attack as well. And Lyosha, we all swore we wouldn't betray the Ukrainian people. That's you, my girls. Have you gone mad? Well, recruiting office, what use are us girls to you? Without girls, there's no point. I want to send off from you, Lyosha. We sent you off, have a heart. For this sixth wave of mobilization, they need to obtain permission from living relatives. I won't give it. I'll write you. I'll send you texts from the front line. You can send me pictures buying the grandchildren, parcels. You can worry about me and I'll defend you. We'll do it ourselves, Tasha. We've been managing by ourselves. You just rest. Let other people go. You've got a good excuse. The sixth wave of mobilization. There are no excuses. I'm not giving my permission. All right. Well, I'll go and ask L.A. Moran. Who? A woman. Who is she? Do I know her? What difference does it make? Definitely not. Sasha, I'm shocked. Do we need to know this? Is she your lover or something? I saw someone was bringing you flowers. You think what you like. But if you don't need me, then she can be the widow of a hero. And you're nothing. Sasha, is this blackmail? I'll be off. Stop! Did you cheat on me then? No. No, I didn't cheat on you. Well, nothing like that. It really hurt. So who is this Eleonora? Mom. I saw her. Forget it. She worked in the literature department. She loved me. She's the size of a bus. What? What did you tell me? Nothing happened. I was just saying to upset you so you let me come home. I've not settled there. Let me go to war. You're in a good place. You rest. We'll do the fighting ourselves. Good grief. Come back, she says. Come back. Women, huh? Don't get in a state. Do you need anything to take with you? No. Have you got money and visas just in case? We'll cope. Put on our song. To say goodbye, too. I have some memories of that summer in the Crimea. Around the barbecue with his work comrades. Swimming naked at night. She has big breasts and long hair. She's leading him drunk into a hotel room. He is leading her drunk into a hotel room. A young Apsada is jumping on the iron bed. He is talking about deep purple. Black Dr. Wine for breakfast. Jellyfish thrown up onto the sand. Soup made of tin vegetables and corn porridge. And in a cafe, a saw, grotesque and sublime. The electric mosquito repellent is invented. I don't feel good. I didn't say anything positive to him again. If you want, you can go and catch up with him. I don't want. We've got this solid fuel stove. That's a very good thing. And an old well. Where will I put Koli's little table? Over here, away from the stove. I won't fit there. Well, here then, maybe. If we move the sideboard. Oh, it's here. Strange. Very strange. Not me. I don't even eat sweets. Oh, these are well past their cell by. I'll leave them here. I'll throw them away. The bin's full. I'll take it out. I'll take the potatoes. Down to the shower. But somewhere far off. Somewhere out there. A new old army is trading. Just in case. I'll let Sasha go to war. Commands are issued. Line up. At ease. Caps off. Catenco. About face. Lift your chest. Spellies in. Shoulders back. At one. At two. At three. Attention. And two. And three. Machine guns to the ready. And fire. This is for you. Okay. Hi, everyone. So I thought I would just start by saying, first of all, what a wonderful touching and funny and moving piece of work. It's wonderful play. One of the things that struck me when I was listening to the play and watching the work of the actors was that the play felt so much to me like it was at its core about anxiety. And I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about the origin of the play and the initial idea for the play. Do you mean anxiety in the play itself, right? Yeah. As a theme of the play of anxiety. Well, the thing is that I've already seen a lot of reading of the play. And it's probably hard for me to relive what I felt when I watched it for the first time. I have seen many versions of the play and it's kind of hard for me to feel exactly what the same scene as I felt for the first time. But since it's a piece of play, it's partially autobiographical. I mean, I wrote it when my loved one died. We were talking about it. And then after a few years, the war started. And I thought about how good it was that he died then, otherwise he would have gone to war now and he would have died again. That's why for me it was... Well, for me, this play had autobiographical character because my stepfather died. And he... And I felt like... Well, he died before the war began. I was glad that he died and did not participate in the events which waited for him afterwards. One of the other questions I had was about translation, actually. And one of the things that I noticed in this play is that the tone changes between being very emotional and it's a bit heavy. And then all of a sudden there's a lot of humor. And I wonder about that process for you, watching it being translated into another language. Well, if I could talk about translation, I would speak English now. I wouldn't need a translator. That's why I can't talk about it at all. I know that, in principle, in my opinion, I wrote the entire piece in a ironic way with humor. And it's a rather funny piece. Usually they laugh from the very beginning. It's difficult for me to talk about the play and translation because, unfortunately, I cannot speak English fluently and cannot really express the nuances of the translation. But I would like to say that the play itself was designed to be ironical right at the beginning. And it's funny, actually, from the first word. And it meant to have an ironical character throughout the whole piece of it. Sarah, can you talk a little bit about your encounter with the play and maybe a little of what conversation you had together about it? Thank you for reading. Thank you so much. Thank you for your beautiful play. Yeah, I would say that came across very strongly to me, the humor in it. And it was something that I think when we first read through it, you know, the actors want to be respectful and it's about death. And I think the tendency is maybe to be more serious. And we, you know, I think tried to push that humor as we worked on it. And I just was struck by the depiction of that kind of relationship with death. That the presence of a ghost could be annoying or funny instead of scary and sad. That was really refreshing to be able to play with. Well, of course, we tried to catch the irony in the very beginning and the humor in the very piece. And it was interesting to see the fact that the presence of a ghost in the beginning was... I mean, at first it could be annoying, but then it became more humorous and more version... I mean, the version of the character itself has changed a little bit. I wonder if you talk a little bit about sort of generally maybe either the reception of this play in Ukraine, but also just sort of the climate or the ecology maybe of new plays in Ukraine right now in Kyiv. Well, after the war began in Ukraine, a lot of people are trying to reflect on the theme of the play. After the war began in Ukraine, a lot of people are trying to reflect on what's happening and to depict it in the playwright of the temporary theater. Great. Maybe we should open up for questions if there are any from the audience. I know that we should probably keep this relatively brief. Yes. If you don't mind, I'm asking Russian and English. I really liked it. Thank you very much. It's a great comedy. It's clear that it's a comedy. You said that you saw the play in different languages or... Yes, in different languages. In English, in Russian and in Ukrainian. Okay, I just want to say I thank Natasha for this. And I was wondering because she mentioned that she saw the play in different languages. As I'm a playwright myself, I'm crazy interested about the differences and sort of like how you catch what is going on on stage even if you're not fluent with the language. What can you say? How in English... I always translated it in Russian when I was listening. Did you write it in Ukrainian or in Russian? I always translated it in Russian because it was strange for me in English. How do you feel about it? Just listen. Well, it's easy for me because when I don't understand the play I can easily listen to it. I don't suffer. And when I understand it, I always suffer. Okay, she said that I might translate that. So I asked her how she feels about listening to this play in English. Because like for me, my mother tongue is Russian so I was constantly translating this play in Russian. And I was wondering if she wrote it in Russian or Ukrainian and it was written in Russian. And I was kind of like catching the irony in Russian. And I felt that it doesn't work in English which is not your fault. I loved what you did. I was like, what is it? All the pronunciation of the names were like... And Natasha just said that she loved to hear it in English because she doesn't suffer if it's in the foreign language. Thank you. Other questions? Anyone else? Yes, I wonder if these conversations went in your head after your stepfather's death, the ones that they were having with Sasha. Yes, of course. It resembles the voice of my mother and what I usually try to depict what I know and what I live through. And I'm not very good at making up fictional characters. Any other audience questions? Just your question, was it done in Ukraine? Was it in Moscow? What did audiences think? So for the first time the play took place in Scotland and people had no idea about the situation in Ukraine. And the only thing they could see was the relationship between men and women. And so they were surprised why the relationship between men and women is so strange in Ukraine. And it was a direct hit. The audience understood very well what was going on. Because Estonians... Oh, I'm sorry, I made a terrible mistake. It was in Lithuania. There was another situation in Estonia. Lithuanians are very afraid of Russia and war. And they believe that Ukraine is a buffer between them. And they listened to it very carefully, but they didn't laugh at all. And when I asked them why they didn't laugh, they said, we were angry. You just don't understand Lithuanian nature when we are silent. In fact, we really laughed. That's the difference. Well, and also there was a version of the play in Lithuania. And Lithuanians, they're afraid of Russians. So they were a little bit tense when the play was going on. And then Natalia would ask, well, why wouldn't you be laughing when the play was going on? And they said, well, actually it was very funny if we just didn't express ourselves. And in Russia this play was played by a very good director. And the play actually sounded very strong. But when I saw it in Berlin, I cried because the accents were completely different. And I realized that Russian theaters shouldn't put a play about Ukraine, because it turns out to be very offensive. They brought this play to Kyiv, they would just beat them up. I think so. Why would they beat them up? Well, there is absolutely no kidding at all at the end of the play that the hero plays. And there is a piece about the fact that the Ukrainian monsters, the military monsters, want to come back from that world, they are already waiting for blood, only a wise woman could stop it. A piece about this. It was a very talented play and for me it was a big trauma. Well, I guess I'll try to translate piece by piece. I was satisfied with the play in Russia and how it went. It was very emotional and very good. But I was actually crying when it was playing in Berlin. Can you explain a little bit about what happened in Berlin? No, I just saw this play in Berlin and I didn't like it at all, as a director of the piece. Not at all, as I wrote it. I think that Russian theaters can't put this piece as it was written, due to the fact that it... How to explain it? In general, they can't put it as it was written. Probably because of politics. But I was disappointed with the play in Berlin because I felt like because of Russian policy, it wasn't made the way it should have been. And I felt like I was disappointed in the way it was represented. Pasha, come here. Come here, sit here. She doesn't keep the cheats. She asked, what's the difference between cheats from the show? Cheat is shorter, right? I said yes. Sasha asked me what was the difference between the play and the reading. Performance and reading. And I said that cheat is shorter. Is the reading shorter than the play? And I said yes, it's much shorter. But it seemed to her that the reading was longer, actually. Maybe that's a good place for us to stop. Any other last questions or comments? Oh, sorry. There's always one last one. I just appreciated that theme of the mother who is so angry at the father and has all of that and yet the child who just loves the dad. And I thought that just came across so beautifully and that would come across anywhere, I think. So it was really interesting. Beautiful. Thank you. My question is for the director, which is the kind of theme of hauntology, which permeates the play. The challenges of representing that realm between the living and the dead and the choices that you made, if you could talk about that in terms of directorially, how you work with the living and the dead on stage, particularly when you're working with restrictions in terms of, this is theatre and wonderfully so, but it's not Hollywood special effects, for instance. You're working with a kind of script in hand performance. So what are the challenges there for you? To me, again, something that I really appreciated about this play is that it is very much a play in the stage directions and in how it's written. It's not written as a television show or a movie. It's not asking to do those things. And I felt I'm very interested in awkwardness in general because it's sort of not allowed in sitcoms and it is allowed in theatre to have silence, to have awkwardness, to have strange pauses. And I felt like what we were sort of trying to do with Richard throughout was to have him make some problems for them that had created awkwardness between them, that created humor, that sort of again broke down that, I think sometimes that sort of Hollywood over-reverence and fear that we have about dealing with the dead, it's hard to make a dead person ridiculous when they have to be very, very realistic as in a film or have special effects. So I think theatre is a great place to kind of explore that boundary in different ways in this play. I felt like I was asked for that in a very refreshing way. Just one question. When I don't need a mic, I can say loud enough. Oh, it's perfect. Oh, you're recording, no problem. Hello, okay. Earlier you said that by the play not being played in Russian, you actually didn't suffer listening to it. What I'm trying to understand is as a reader, or as a reader we try to duplicate or replicate the feelings that you feel as a writer that we can actually feel that while we read it. What do you think would be important to know about the culture or the language so that when we actually read that, that we can actually feel and understand that play the way you actually wrote it? I feel like it's much more... I feel like it's much more difficult to express feelings and nuances in English during the reading. And when the actual video of the play was made, the filmmaker actually came to the Ukraine and he studied the situation and he studied the characters and playing details. Yeah, so it's nice when the director or the project itself has money to actually go to the place where the play is made and to get immersed into the culture and see what's happening and understand the humor itself and then manifested by that to the audience. Hi, thank you. I'm just curious because I've performed in many different countries and with translations, you know, plays the same play that's been translated in many different languages and the wonderful and fascinating thing for us as actors is to see different cultures react completely differently to the same text. And so my question to you is, is that something that filters in to your thinking when you're writing plays that are clearly being performed internationally? And if or if not, what is it that you would like... what's the basic thing that you would like international audiences to come away with having seen your plays? You're absolutely right that every place, every country will react differently to the play because of the historical and personal background. But, of course, at the same time, I would like to talk about the historical and personal background of course, I would like to tell you about the events that take place in Ukraine, about political events. Of course, I would like to tell my own personal story about what happened to me in the past and my personal experience, but I also would like to deliver a personal story about what happened to me in the past and my personal experience. But I also would like to deliver a message about the country and what's happening in Ukraine now and what is the situation is like. All right, well, thank you all very much for sticking around for some great questions and thank you to the Segal Center and to all of you and to the wonderful actors who read the play. It's fantastic.