Today, June 17, the grand opening of the Shakespeare Festival took place at the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater in Ivano-Frankivsk.
The event’s guests were greeted by the Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, Rostyslav Karandieiev, who said, “Amidst many problems we have to solve today, we are forced to mobilize our resilience. Considering global experience and philosophy, particularly from Shakespeare’s works, which explain many of today’s problems to us, we can consciously create. Even in wartime, we can create high culture. Ukrainian theaters have become extraordinarily in demand. We see lines for performances, around museums. Ukrainian culture is actively developing.”
He also thanked the United Kingdom for its assistance, including in organizing the Shakespeare Festival. The UK is one of the countries that has shown its solidarity with Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war, providing comprehensive support to Ukrainians.
This is the first Shakespeare Festival in Ukraine. It declares Ukraine’s belonging to the European and global cultural community and will continue until June 23rd.
“Ukrainian culture, as part of the world cultural heritage, once again finds itself under attack from russia. The war against Ukraine can be seen through the prism of Hamlet’s ‘to be or not to be’. With its aggression, russia seems to say to Ukraine ‘not to be’, denying its right to be itself. Despite these brutal attempts, Ukraine responds with a resolute ‘to be’. To be for Ukrainian language, theater, peace. To be for the Ukrainian Shakespeare Festival,” noted Ambassador Martin Harris, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Ukraine.
In the program of the Ukrainian Shakespeare Festival, there are theatrical hits, productions from the homeland of the famous playwright – the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as performances from Italy.
“I am extremely pleased that in our region, so many good deeds are happening every day. This underscores our unity. Today, unity is the greatest weapon of the Ukrainian people against the barbarian, the aggressor country that has invaded our land, which daily tries to destroy us, to wipe our nation off the face of the earth. Yet we are so strong, unbreakable, that every day we begin with prayer and work towards our victory,” said Svitlana Onyshchuk, Head of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration.
The organizers emphasize that the goal of the festival is to create an international platform to discuss Ukrainian culture with the world, European identity of Ukrainians, and the war that claims Ukrainian lives every day. Ukraine aims to become part of the European Shakespeare Festival network, existing in various countries, in order to be heard.
In Ivano-Frankivsk, the Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy discussed current issues with Vasyl Sheremeta, Acting Director and Artistic Director of the Ivano-Frankivsk National Academic Hutsul Song and Dance Ensemble “Hutsuliia.” This year, the Ensemble celebrates its 85th anniversary. The group is focused on preserving and promoting the best examples of art from the Carpathian region.
Rostyslav Karandeyev also met with Volodymyr Rudnytskyi, the director of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Philharmonic named after Iryna Malanyuk.
