• 56m
• Premiéra 2025

SWEET BIRDS

Akademické divadlo dramatu Lesji Ukrajinky

"I just want to stop having to justify myself. Not for my strength, not for my fear, not for love, not for who I love. Not for what I believe in, not for simply wanting to live my own way." These words will resonate with many women — because none of the characters here are invented, and any resemblance is no coincidence.

Created in the genre of documentary fiction, the performance consists of monologues that feel more like confessions to the audience. It is an honest conversation about women's exhaustion, fears, and desires. Though with the latter, the characters struggle — it is hard to understand what you truly want when you strip away the expectations society has imposed on you.

Dear Creatures at the Lesia Ukrainka Theatre in Lviv is the first Ukrainian production by German director Malin Victoria Kraus. Exploring the development of feminist thought in Ukraine, the director conducted a series of interviews with women of different ages and professions. The dramaturgy of the performance is built on real stories of Ukrainian women — including the personal experiences of the theatre's own actresses.

The performance also draws on Oksana Zabuzhko's novel Field Work in Ukrainian Sex, Annie Ernaux's A Woman's Story, and a poem by Oksana Potapova, The Personal is International. The atmosphere is shaped by instrumental versions of songs by the artist DONBASGRL.