Two Ukrainian war-themed plays win prestigious theater awards in U.S.
Two plays about Ukraine received significant awards in the U.S., winning the 2024 Elliot Norton Awards and The Helen Hayes Awards at the end of May, playwright Sasha Denysova, the author of both plays, shared the news.
The play "The Hague," staged at the Arlekin Players Theatre, was honored with the prestigious 2024 Elliot Norton Award for Best Direction by the Boston Theater Critics Association.
"The Hague" imagines a trial of Vladimir Putin, narrated by an orphaned girl from Mariupol. She envisions Putin’s accomplices, from Kadyrov to Kovalchuk, also facing justice.
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The production featured a record-breaking cast of 18 actors from New York, Los Angeles, and Boston. Ihor Golyak, an American director of Ukrainian descent, directed the virtual version of the play, which reached audiences across the U.S. The choreography was by Iryna Kruzhylina.
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The second award, the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Production, went to the play "My mother and the full-scale invasion," based on the eponymous play by Sasha Denysova.
This work, centered on the story of the playwright's 82-year-old mother, was performed at two of the largest theaters in the U.S. — Woolly Mammoth Theatre and The Wilma Theater.
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Both plays also saw their set designers winning awards.
The productions received widespread acclaim and reviews in prominent publications such as The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and The Guardian.
"Ukraine triumphed on the theatrical front by using the medium to convey the harrowing truth about Russia’s crimes on Ukrainian soil and the incredible resilience of the Ukrainian people," Sasha Denysova said, reflecting on the recognition her plays received.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
