Eight Short Compositions

The source text by young Ukrainian writer Anastasiia Kosodii is a strong emotional statement that combines post-dramatic structure with deep roots in the Ukrainian cultural tradition. Director Jana Svobodová’s modest staging allows the stories to be perceived on their own. The projection of the entire original text, in Czech and English, is an important part of the production. Five performers, each from a different European country, react to the text with movement, song and music. The empty space is thus filled with emotions that are transferred to the audience. After the work-in-progress presentation at the Akcent Festival, the audience remained in the auditorium in silence and meditation for many minutes.

The production is performed in Czech and English and created in collaboration with the Jam Factory in Lviv, Ukraine as part of the international project Artists in War.

Co-created and performed by: Rosa Berman, Amanda Doherty, Lotta Karlsson, Maria Kosiychuk and Sofia Velez.

Audience: Adult, Children 13+

Archa Theatre is a centre for contemporary stage art regardless of genre. Since it was founded in 1994, Archa has established a solid reputation on the progressive domestic and international scenes with its unique dramaturgy and innovative projects. It operates as a production house that provides artists with space for their creative work.

Over the past 25 years, Archa has welcomed aboard renowned international figures including Robert Wilson, Min Tanaka, Wim Vandekeybus, Ultima Vez, Dogtroep, Rimini Protokoll and many others.

Projects by emerging artists are developed under the auspices of Archa.lab and its residencies. The theatre’s International Summer School serves as a platform for experimentation and research in the field of documentary theatre. One of Archa’s flagship events each season is the Akcent International Festival of Documentary Theatre. Theatre director Jana Svobodová is the artistic director of both activities.

Svobodová has focused on projects based on collaborations between professional artists and representatives of specific social groups. She worked with refugees, the Roma community, citizens of rural towns, inhabitants of townships and hip-hop artists. Her projects have been presented at festivals in the Czech Republic and abroad. Together with Ondrej Hrab, she co-creates the dramaturgical strategy for the Archa Theatre.

press/awards

On Good Friday, I watched the performance of the Archa Theatre “Eight compositions from the life of Ukrainians for a Western audience”. The director, Jana Svobodová, used the emotional text of the young Ukrainian writer Anastasiia Kosodii, who started writing it right after the start of the war. The director chose a very modest format so that the stories could work on their own without big gestures and interpretations.  
Eva Turnová: Eight compositions from the life of Ukraininans (Glosa Plus, Český rozhlas, April 14, 2023)