Sour and Sweet

The play’s script is based on interviews with former residents of Kysliwka who—forced to flee—now live in various countries around the world (the Czech Republic, Canada, Germany, the U.S., and the U.K.) or in other cities in Ukraine.

Techniques from devised theater and physical theater were used in the development of this monodrama. The creators also aimed to raise the question of the relevance of art in times of mass human tragedy through their work.

The independent theater company GAS was founded in 2022 by actors Sofia Onishchenko, Daria Bogdan, and Vasylyna Martsenyuk after they were forced to flee to Poland due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The group’s name comes from the production of the same name by Les Kurbas, a Ukrainian director and pioneer of the “Executed Renaissance” period. GAS premiered in Kharkiv in 1923—exactly 100 years ago (2022/23).

Furthermore, the group’s name alludes to the oil and gas reserves in eastern Ukraine—particularly in the Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions—which are one of the main reasons for the Russian invasion.