This is hell. And this is only the beginning according the Moirai prophesy. They do their job well. Now it is your turn to enter, says the Guide. No one promises an easy stroll — it will be difficult, but after all, it is a comedy (divine, forgive us Father)! You will have to negotiate with thugs, rude carriers, shady fixers, appease molfars, and settle accounts with carolers. What is all this for? The question is inappropriate. It is simply so: every generation in this part of the world follows in Dante’s footsteps in search of truth. Here are the poets who will sing this path. Here are the muses who will inspire the poets. So do not stop when you are walking through hell.
The performance incorporates excerpts from “The Divine Comedy” by Dante in the Ukrainian translation by Maksym Strikha, an excerpt from the poem “Vertep” by Hrytsko Chubai, KGB interrogation records, as well as compositions and variations based on traditional songs from different regions of Ukraine.

Dramaturg — Nina Zakhozhenko
Director — Dmytro Zakhozhenko
Set and Costume Designer — Kostiantyn Zorkin
Musical Dramaturge — Mariana Sadovska
Composers — Volodymyr Pomirko, Mariana Sadovska
Lighting Designers — Yevhenii Petrov

Cast

Dante — Nazar Boniashchuk / Nataliia Mazur
Beatrice — Yelyzaveta Pustovalova, Zhanna Ferents
Molfars (male and female): Rostyslav Kolachnyk / Andrii Kravchuk, Anastasiia
Lisovska / Anastasiia Perets, Vladyslav Heorhishan / Oleksandr Petryna
Carolers (male and female): Lesia Zadorozhna / Svitlana Fedieshova, Vira
Hanchar/ Taisiia Malakhova, Vasyl Kolisnyk / Serhii Lytvynenko, Yana Kolodiichuk /
Tetiana Shelelio

Premiere — December 6, 2025

The performance was created in collaboration with the NGO Art Workshop “Drabyna” within the project At the Dawn of the World, with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. The performance reflects the authors’ views and does not necessarily represent the position of the International Renaissance Foundation.