Lena Kudajewa, Polina Położencewa, Oksana Sawczenko

Insekt

“Insekt” is the result of collaboration between three cultural institutions: the Ukrainian Institute, Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute, and Workshops of Culture in Lublin. The volume consists of three dramas selected in 2022 as part of the “transmission.UA: drama on the move” programme run by the Ukrainian Institute. The programme aims to promote contemporary Ukrainian drama in European countries. This bilingual publication, in Polish and Ukrainian, marks the beginning of drama publications within Wschodni Express, a series published by Workshops of Culture since 2024. Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute is a co-publisher of the collection.

Ukrainian literature, including drama, will never be the same as it used to be. The experience of a long-lasting war with its various phases has undoubtedly had a profound impact on Ukrainian writers. Playwrights have learned to recognise and neutralise human traumas, acquiring the rare ability to separate what truly matters from trivial and unreal topics. They have restored proper proportions to the matters at hand. Combined with significant universal themes, this will undoubtedly result in powerful dramatic literature. 

Anna Korzeniowska-Bihun (translator)