About the Playwright
Yurii Hudymenko/Юрій Гудименко, 34, hails from Zaporizhia and is a Ukrainian politician, leader of the Democratic Ax Movement, in the past he was a blogger, TV presenter, and publicist. A historian by education, Yuri became a sapper when the full-scale war began, and is serving in the 130th battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense, and shares his unique perspective on the war via social media. Hudymenko was in Mariupol when it was under attack, and fought in Irpin, Bucha and Kharkiv oblast, where he was wounded in battle and rescued by fellow soldiers. On September 6th, 2022, Yuriy was awarded the Order for Courage 3rd class for personal courage in defending state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Recorded Live Performance
(Above) Performance in English on June 19, 2023, at the Long Room Hub at Trinity College Dublin
(Above) Performance in Ukrainian on June 24, 2023, at the Ukrainian Action Center in Rathmines
CAST
Mariia Koshyrenkova is a photographer and graphic designer from Ukraine. She created the promotional material for the event and organized the promotional photos for the participants. Her goal is to reduce the frequency and volume of ignorant questions often posed to Ukrainians like, "Is the war still going on?" and to call the people who might think, "I'm a small person, what can I change?" to be brave, like Ukrainians.
Dixon Graham (Director) is a theatremaker and researcher from Charleston, South Carolina (USA) currently completing her MPhil in Theatre and Performance at Trinity College Dublin. Dixon completed her undergraduate degrees at Clemson University in South Carolina in 2018, receiving a BA in Production Studies in Performing Arts with a Minor in Music and BS in Marketing. She is passionate about creating quality theatre that engages the audience on multiple levels and interdisciplinary collaboration. Her current area of research concerns staging emotionally provocative subjects and how we might anticipate, navigate, and address the potential effects of performing these subjects for both practitioners and audiences. She is a producer, director, sound and projection designer, and actor for this event, which is also a part of the practice-based portion of her current research. Following the completion of her MPhil at the end of the summer of 2023, she hopes to further research the different methods and mediums for immersive storytelling and how an audience's engagement and perception of the story may change with the different methods.
"I am constantly amazed and inspired by the incredible talent, beautiful culture, and unwavering strength that every Ukrainian carries with them and I am honored to have been a part of this project to help share these incredible stories with the world."