It is complemented by video installations featuring the documentary films Mariupol. One Hundred Nights and There Are No Children. There Are People, as well as panels displaying children’s drawings.
The opening featured a special performance, Field of Memory, with Solomiia Melnyk (voice), Anton Baibakov (composer) and dancers from Tsholo4olo Group. The performance was dedicated to the children of Ukraine who have been killed or deported to Russia, drawing a parallel between the lived experience of war in Ukraine and the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.
Following the performance, welcome remarks were delivered by Ambassador of Ukraine to South Africa Oleksandr Shcherba, Artistic Director of The Market Theatre Greg Homann, Deputy Director General of the Ukrainian Institute Alim Aliev, and theatre director Vladyslav Troitskyi.
On April 10 and 11, two concerts by the Ukrainian freak-cabaret band Dakh Daughters took place at the John Kani Theatre. Their program AntIDote incorporates texts by Ukrainian poet Victoria Amelina, who was killed in a Russian missile strike on Kramatorsk in 2023, as well as the poem The Stonecutters by Ivan Franko. Through these works, the performers address themes of resilience, solidarity and commitment to values in times of loss and uncertainty.
The project was implemented with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation, the Ukrainian Institute, the Embassy of Ukraine in South Africa, the Embassy of Austria in South Africa, the Embassy of Norway in South Africa, and Ukrainian Communication Group, in partnership with GogolFest and The Market Theatre.
Source: Ukrainian Institute
