Viacheslav Yehorov was working at his film school creating art therapy for children when Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, forcing millions of Ukrainians to flee their homes.
Many took refuge in the small western town of Uzhhorod, which borders four EU countries. It was here that Yehorov – a student of directing within the performing arts – decided to realise his long-held dream of staging King Lear.
Recognising a parallel between refugees’ experience and the themes of Shakespeare’s classic, the director printed call-outs for actors and posted them on the town’s walls and fences. To his surprise, more than 60 people applied – most of them displaced people who had very little prior experience of theatre and performance.
It had started when a cooking hub for refugees was set up in the same building as the film school, and he and the school’s co-founder took the children to the theatre “with the aim of distracting them, because they were scared and asking what was going on”.
“When I realised how much of a good impact the performance had on the children, I decided to do a similar thing for adults,” said Yehorov. “For me King Lear is the biggest tragedy masterpiece in the world. The war was not going to stop me [putting on this performance].”
The play premiered in Ukraine at the height of the conflict. Now, for the first time, the Theatre Studio of IDP’s Uzhik’s production of Shakespeare’s classic will be staged outside Ukraine – at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon on 14-15 June.
The cast of 12 (10 women and two men) includes no professional actors, drawing instead on teachers, students, labourers, salespeople and doctors who had moved to Uzhhorod during the war.
They will perform in Ukrainian without subtitles, though the RSC says due to the abstract and visual nature of the piece it can be enjoyed by those who do not speak the language.
According to Yehorov, the production has been a therapeutic journey for all of its participants and a symbol of resilience and unity in the face of adversity.
“I wouldn’t say it’s escape but in a way it’s a substitute to have a better life, they are living in such a stress due to the news of the war and it’s very difficult for people to leave [Ukraine],” he said. “It’s nice to give the people something good in life.”
As part of their visit to Stratford-upon-Avon, members of the company will meet representatives from internationally displaced people groups across Warwickshire (including Welcome Here, Mosaic Church, Hand in Hand and Association of Ukrainians of Great Britain) who will be given the opportunity to watch a performance before the public opening.
And how has it been directing a group of non-actors in a Shakespeare play? “I have a very strong nervous system,” Yehorov jokes.
The director has adapted the play, with the conflict between Edgar and Edmund being between Goneril and Regan instead. But he said he felt strongly that the war in the play and the war in Ukraine were very different things.
“For me, the war in Shakespeare, it’s on paper and that’s one thing, but the tragedy that happened in real life is absolutely different, it’s a different level. We need to learn that war is the equivalent of death. That it means just death.”
The story of the theatre company also inspired the documentary King Lear: How We Looked for Love During the War, which premiered at SEEfest festival in San Francisco last year.
Yehorov said he was “very excited” to be staging the play in the UK, but stressed that “it’s different because of the war. We’re a bit exhausted, so please bear with us.”
King Lear, directed by Viacheslav Yehorov, will be staged at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, on 14 and 15 June.
