Experienced yogis along with people who hate planning can confirm that one can stay in the state of “here and now” forever. Let me tell you a secret: we called the season of 23/24 like that, because we had been seriously planning to call the previous season of 22/23 the “victorious”. Back then in May 2022 we were desperate to be in the future, to escape our unbearable reality and to embrace our happy tomorrow. However, we were reasonable enough to call that season “to be in shape”. The following year we finally accepted the difficult, uncertain, sad and scary “here and now”. We tried our best to make “here and now” at least tolerable — this fact can be confirmed by the true fans of performance “Despondency Club”. We know it at firsthand that you, dear audience, had found it a little easier to live through your “here and now” with us.
Let me share with you: we are overwhelmed with tenderness right now. Every time when you break down into tears during performances; when one can hear explosions of (Huhh!) laughter in the hall; when the militaries shyly enter the audience hall free of charge within compensation benefits; when the wounded soldiers on crutches strain to get to the second floor (yes, there is a lot of work so far to make our theatre spaces accessible), but find the strengths to smile and refuse help; when you make cute glances in mirrors while entering the theater; when you are generously donating at our charity fundraising campaigns; when former residents of our shelter call us with an invitation to visit them in Kharkiv; when our guys in the army spread announcements of our new performances. This tenderness is for all our people, and it is healing.
This tenderness is the basis of our resilience. It gives resilience to our shattered hearts and fragile nerves. It connects us to people and their stories to the point where we cannot wait to share them. In season of 23/24 you will watch on our stage the story of the marine from Azovstal, presented by Anastasiya Kosodiy; the nostalgic play about male friendship written by Andriy Bondarenko and directed by Denys Fedieshov, a director and current military; the show about love by Vlad Bilonenko and Oksana Danchuk, as well as one international co-production, which will be announced soon. Let’s share our tenderness. This will reveal an unexpected strength in us. Here is our motto for the season24/25: tenderness and resilience.
