On April 24 and 25 in Zhytomyr, 14 teenagers will show a multimedia show-prom “Letters to an unknown friend from New York”. Director of the performance on the war in the Donbass – the curator of the theater laboratory of Mystetskyi Arsenal Olga Danylyuk. Actors – children from the theatrical circle of the village of Novgorod, Donetsk region, which until 1951 had a rather unusual name – New York. The premiere of the performance took place in December 2017 in Kyiv, at the Art Arsenal. Now Zhitomir

What do we know about the war? .. Not about the first or the friend of the world, but about today! On the one that destroys the Donbas, it destroys Lugansk, takes away the most dearest of people – life. Ask about this from children from the village of Novgorod, which is in the Donetsk region. And they will tell you. Tell everything. As an adult, but without an image and anger. Tell the soul. The courageous soul that settled in the adolescent body. And the warlord raises the soul!
The settlement of Novgorod is located next to the line of demarcation. Then Horlivka, where the “manages” the so-called DPR. The extreme street of the settlement is almost entirely in ruins. For the fourth consecutive year, its inhabitants have heard the rumble of explosions and shooting, and half the time they spend in the cellars, hiding from death. What do you think: what do teenagers feel? .. Fear? No! They already stopped afraid – and it’s terrible! They remember well the peaceful times and their greatest sensations – it’s a longing for peace! And yet frustration is broken through powerlessness to drastically affect the situation …
It is about this play “Letters to an unknown friend from New York”. She has no plot. These are frank tales of adolescent actors who convey the real circumstances of the war. The audience does not sit in the hall, as usual, but goes along with the young actors from the location to the location and almost for two hours go deep into the abyss of the war. Along with stories about the history of the Donbas, a powerful industrial region and a distinctive culture clearly depict the pictures of the ruthlessly destroyed town, personal tragedies. When the children tell that the occupants had broken the electric cable and to raise their miners’ parents from the mine mine, all the surrounding villages should be disconnected from the light, and not the fact that they will have enough power or wires again, they will fill the feeling of a rush to escape, to call for help, save. I was in the premiere in December, and this feeling is with me to this day. And it will probably remain for a long time.
We talk a lot about the unity of the nation. Probably, at this stage, the unity of our people is in order not only to feel the pain of our neighbor, but to do our best to help …
Since December 2017, 11 performances have already been delivered. Now there is a plan to show a multimedia action in different cities of Ukraine. And the question is not even to squeeze the inhabitants of peaceful territories for two hours from the comfort zone and immerse in the truth of the war. More it would be desirable to give the opportunity to children who have been living in the ATO zone for many years, to see another Ukraine, to get acquainted with their peers in different corners of our state. Chat, make friends. Tours give children such an opportunity.
That is why we are now co-sponsoring the “background” in Zhytomyr so that the tour of young actors-fans from the front-line settlement of Novgorod was sincere, unforgettable, enjoyable and interesting for both Zhytomyr dwellers and for actors.
We have seen many locations in Zhytomyr. They stopped there, where not only the most suitable premises, but where the builder of the building was most concerned with the event, and the team is ready to help all the forces. And we are grateful.
Consequently, the performances will take place in the lobby of the hotel “Zhytomyr” on April 24 and 25. Of course, we invite everyone, but most of all I want teenagers to come. Elderly people are best at talking. Frank communication is the best convergence and cohesiveness of the nation! So the people grow up, ready to defend their native land and fight for the right to peaceful free life. I think that the next generations of Ukrainian citizens will be much more tolerant, more patriotic and nobody will be able to divide us into the East and West by faith or language.
Young theaters will come to Zhytomyr on April 22nd. So, the performances will have a day for rehearsals and walks through the city. We are planning to visit the Museum of Cosmonautics and the Natural History Museum. We are organizing a chocolate master class in the Lviv Chocolate Workshop. And most importantly, we plan a lot of communication so that residents of the peaceful Zhytomyr can understand and feel what the children from the front line zone have to face. Also, I am sure that the Zhytomyr citizens will give the Novgorod children a particle of their warmth. Such communication helps to better understand each other, and some encourage a different way of looking at life. Welcome.
Translated by Aliona Matushevich