The Suppliants Project: Ukraine Performance Video
The Suppliants Project: Ukraine presents live, dramatic readings of Aeschylus’ play The Suppliants on Zoom—featuring professional actors and a chorus of Ukrainian citizens—to help frame global discussions about the War in Ukraine and the unique challenges now faced by the people of Ukraine and those who support them. Using a 2,500-year-old text as catalyst for a powerful, international discussion, The Suppliants Project: Ukraine seeks to amplify and humanize the voices and perspectives of Ukrainian citizens, refugees, soldiers, immigrants, politicians, activists, and artists who participate in the performance and discussion on their personal devices on Zoom from locations within Ukraine and in neighboring countries.
The Suppliants is an ancient Greek play about a group of refugees who seek asylum in the city of Argos from forced marriage and violence. The play not only depicts the struggle of these refugees to cross a border into safety, but also the internal struggle within the country that ultimately receives them, as its citizens wrestle with how best to address the crisis at their border and whether to go to war on behalf of the refugees seeking their protection.
Featuring performances by Oscar Isaac, Willem Dafoe, David Strathairn, Kira Meshcherska (Actor, 12 years old, Kyiv, Ukraine), Dmytro Zaleskyi (Doctor, Psychiatrist, Analyst, Head of the Mobile Medical Center, Ukrainian Territorial Defense), Lyudmila Yankina (Human Rights Defender, Humanitarian Volunteer, ZMINA Human Rights Center, Ukraine), Olena Martynenko (Communication Manager, Good Bread bakery, Kyiv), Tatiana Tolpezhnikov, (PhD in Economics, Refugee from Mariupol, Ukraine) and Roman Tolpezhnikov (Associate Professor & Dean, Mariupol State University, Refugee from Mariupol, Ukraine).
Directed and translated from the Ancient Greek to English by Bryan Doerries. Co-facilitated by Bryan Doerries and Oksana Yakushko. Play translated into Ukrainian by Oksana Yakushko. Produced by Marjolaine Goldsmith.
WAYS TO HELP
The Chorus of Ukrainians has compiled the following list of organizations that are on the ground helping Ukrainians survive:
• Good Bread from Good People – https://eng.goodbread.com.ua
• ZMINA Center for Human Rights – https://zmina.ua/en/#
• United24 – is the charitable contribution organized by the Office of Zelensky – https://u24.gov.ua
• Voices of Children is an organization that supports therapists and other providers offering probono work with Ukrainian children – https://voices.org.ua/en/
• Come Back Alive – supporting military in Ukraine – https://www.comebackalive.in.ua/
• Pirogov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital (PFVMH), https://www.medbat.org.ua/en/
Support for our digital programming is provided, in part, by the Mellon Foundation.
