NYC theater troupe with roots in Ukraine, Russia teams up for war-inspired 'Hell Dialogues'

Oct. 5 (UPI) -- A new war-inspired play produced by and starring a team with roots in Ukraine and Russia will debut in New York City next month.

The play, titled Hell Dialogues, was born as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Daniel Veksler, a Russian-English translator and journalist who immigrated from the Soviet Union as a child in 1989, adapted the script from Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit and Plato's Dialogues.

It is being produced by Kyiv native Anna Zinenko and Lucy Palamarchuk of the organization Locus29, the same group that brought a screening of the 1930 silent film Zemlya by Ukrainian filmmaker Oleksandr Dovzhenko to the Fridman Gallery in lower Manhattan last year.

"In the midst of a full-scale invasion in Ukraine, a group of artists found themselves at a crossroads during their production of Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit," Locus29 said in a news release.

"Instead of abandoning their project, they chose to channel their concerns into their art. To delve deeper into the exploration of human nature amidst turmoil, they decided to incorporate fragments of Plato's Dialogues, renaming the play Hell Dialogues."

The play is being directed by Masha Kotlova, a student of the famed Russian theater director Anatoly Vasiliev. The production uses what the producers called a "unique psycho-physical acting technique" developed by Kotlova.

"Through incorporating physical and verbal improvisation, this adaptation aims to bring the themes of the play into the present moment for both the audience and the actors, creating a new version of the story in every rehearsal and performance," the producers said.

The costumes are designed by Sasha Mazhara, an artist from Ukraine forced to flee when Russia invaded last year, the producer said in pointing to the show's ties to the war.

"This choice was driven by the desire to delve into the timeless themes of war, democracy, society and the human condition," the producers said of the decision to adapt the work. "For these artists, the theater became their refuge, the sole territory to express their thoughts and emotions amid the unfolding crisis."

The play will debut on Nov. 3 with performances scheduled throughout the first half of the month.