Green Corridors | Ukraine
Playwright - Natalka Vorozhbyt
Translator - John Freedman with Natalia Bratus
Director - Kay Martinovich
Partner – Trap Door Theatre
Synopsis - Green Corridors tells the story of the involuntary European integration of four refugees from Ukraine following Russia's full-scale invasion. It is an attempt to analyze Ukraine's relations with the EU, the relationship that refugees have with those who have remained in Ukraine, and to reflect on the traumatic experience of living the life of a refugee who has lost one's home. The play was commissioned by the Kammerspiele theater in Munich with the hope of provoking Germans and Ukrainians into a frank conversation. This is a play with historical references, with elements of absurdity and black humor - the use of these tools allows a spectator to distance oneself from the play's events and to be more ruthless towards the characters. As such, Ukrainians are not victims in this play: They are funny, scary, touching and invincible.
All staged readings begin at 6 PM followed by a talkback.
Performances are FREE to the public and reservations are not required. DONATIONS help keep the festival free!
Natalka Vorozhbyt
Natalka Vorozhbyt is a Ukrainian playwright and director, a leader in the resurgence of Ukrainian national drama in the 21st century. Her first major play, Galka Motalko, had success shortly after she graduated from Moscow’s Gorky Literature Institute in 2000. The Grain Store, a historical work about the Holodomor, the state-induced famine in Ukraine in the 1930s, was produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in London in 2009. Vorozhbyt took part in the Euromaidan protests in Kyiv in 2013/14, and the theme of the ensuing war with Russia has colored her work ever since. In 2015 she was a co-founder, with Georg Genoux, of the Theater of Displaced People which offered an opportunity for refugees from the Donbas region to tell their stories in a formal, theatrical context. She wrote the screenplay for Cyborgs, a 2017 film about the bloody defense of an airport in Donetsk against Russian separatists. Bad Roads (2017) was staged at the Royal Court Theater in London, and, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has been one of the most-produced Ukrainian plays internationally. As a film directed by the author, Bad Roads was Ukraine’s official Oscar selection in 2022. Green Channels was written near the end of 2023, and has already been produced in Kyiv at the Theater of Playwrights, and several venues in Europe. Although she wrote in Russian early in her career, Vorozhbyt now writes in Ukrainian. She is presently a writer-in-residence at Oxford University.
Natalia Bratus
Natalia Bratus graduated in 1982 with a degree in metallurgical engineering in her hometown of Dnepropetrovsk (now Dnipro), Ukraine, the Soviet Union. She worked as a defectoscopist engineer for 10 years before becoming a private entrepreneur after Ukraine declared independence. She escaped the war in Ukraine with her daughter, grandson, and two family pets in March 2022, and immediately began working with John Freedman on translations of Ukrainian dramatic texts. Together they have produced 45 translations in two years.
John Freedman
John Freedman is an American writer and translator who, after working 30 years in Russia, now resides in Greece. He was the theater critic of The Moscow Times from 1992 to 2015. His play Dancing, Not Dead (2011) was winner of the Internationalists Global Play Contest (2011); his short play Five Funny Tales from the Heart of Buenos Aires (2013) has been performed in New York City, Chattanooga, and Edinburgh. He has translated over 160 dramatic texts, of which productions have been mounted in five continents. He is the author or compiler of numerous books, including Silence’s Roar: The Life and Drama of Nikolai Erdman (1992), and Provoking Theater: Kama Ginkas Directs (2003). He edited the anthology A Dictionary of Emotions in a Time of War: 20 Short Works by Ukrainian Playwrights (Laertes Press), named one of the 50 best books published in 2023 by The Telegraph. He was Russian Director of The New Russian Drama: Translation/Production/Conference (2007-2010) conducted by Towson University and the Center for International Theatre Development (CITD); and Director of New American Plays for Russia (2010-2015), a CITD project bringing cutting edge American drama to Russia with the support of the U.S. embassy in Moscow under the auspices of the Bilateral Presidential Commission. He is the curator of two Worldwide Play Readings projects: Insulted. Belarus (2020 to present) and Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings (2022 to present).
Kay Martinovich
Kay Martinovich is a Chicago-based director. Recent credits include the Jeff-nominated and Chicago premiere of The Father at Remy Bumppo, Deirdre of the Sorrows at City Lit, and Jeff-nominated Naked and Jeff-award winning La Bête both at Trap Door Theatre. Kay has a long-standing association with Trap Door, having directed several shows over the years, starting with Bremen Freedom in their fourth season. As Associate Artistic Director for Irish Repertory of Chicago, Kay supported season selection, production casting, and media materials. For Irish Rep, she directed the American premiere of By the Bog of Cats ... , the Jeff-nominated Bailegangaire, Pentecost, The Mai, and Two by Friel: from Chekhov: The Bear and the American premiere of The Yalta Game. She is Artistic Associate at both Her Story Theatre and Perennial Theatre, where she is also involved in new work development along with Chicago Writers Bloc. Kay’s work has been seen on many Chicago stages including GreatWorks, American Blues, The Gift, Lifeline, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Mary-Arrchie, Live Bait, Circle, Apple Tree/TYA, Famous Door, Emerald City, Theatre Wit, and Chicago Dramatists, among other theaters in the Midwest. She holds a PhD in Theatre Historiography from University of Minnesota and an MPhil in Irish Theatre from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Kay is Associate Professor at Northern Illinois University where she teaches Meisner-based acting, audition technique, directing, and professional development for the actor. Proud member of SDC, the professional director's union, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Visit kaymartinovich.com
Trap Door Theatre is committed to seeking out challenging and obscure works. Whether a forgotten European classic, an international project rarely seen in the United States, or an untarnished piece of American literature, Trap Door seeks diverse voices and presents them through innovative expression. We mix established and imaginative techniques to illustrate the absurdities of living in today’s society. www.trapdoortheatre.com