The International Theater Festival "Golden Lion-2023" is set to kick off in Lviv

The International Theater Festival "Golden Lion-2023" will take place in Lviv from October 5 to October 10. This year, the festival, which is celebrating its 34th year, will focus on commemorating the struggle of Ukrainians. The "Golden Lion" festival will provide a platform for Ukrainian theaters to showcase performances that premiered after February 24, 2022.

The festival will feature plays from theaters in Lviv, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Luhansk, Sumy, Kropyvnytskyi, Chernihiv, Kherson, as well as theaters from the Czech Republic, France, and Denmark.

Performances will be held at various theaters in Lviv, including the "Voskresinnia" Theater, Les Kurbas Theater, First Theater, Maria Zankovetska Theater, and the Officers' House.

During the "Golden Lion-2023" international theater festival in Lviv, various theaters will present their performances. Here are some of the plays and theaters that will be featured:

Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Drama Theater (Kyiv) will perform "Translations" based on the play by the famous Irish playwright Brian Friel. The events take place in a village where colonists arrive to update maps and rename names from Irish to English.

The Kyiv Theater on Podil will present the play "Green Corridors" by Natalia Vorozhbyt. The story revolves around four heroines who must pass through a "green corridor" at the border: an elderly woman from Kyiv region secretly taking her cats, a mother of three children from Kharkiv whose husband went to the front, a girl from Bucha, and a movie and TV star. The play is directed by Maxim Holenko, the Acting Artistic Director of the Zankovetska Theater.

The "Resurrection" Theater will showcase a new play performed by the Luhansk Music and Drama Theater titled "They Are Not There," based on the play "Fourth Wall" by Alex Wood. The young actor Jean comes for an audition but suddenly begins to see the audience where they shouldn't be: in the auditorium, in the courtyard, in the apartment. They are everywhere, creating an intriguing atmosphere.

The Sumy Drama and Musical Comedy Theater will present "Bread Ceasefire," based on the work of Serhiy Zhadan. The play is performed in a "stage within a stage" format, allowing a deeper exploration of the psychological aspects of the characters and their attempts to understand the dimension in which they exist. The director, Dmytro Nekrasov, emphasizes the symbolic lines found in this dramatic work.

In the "Resurrection" Theater, the Kherson Theater named after Mykola Kulish and Project Art Theater will present the play "Dzhiva" directed by Nadiia Ahieievo-Shved. "Dzhiva" is described by the playwright Anatoliy Matviychuk as a transcendental play that attempts to answer complex existential questions that trouble many. The performance incorporates documentary narratives from Kherson poets featured in the book "Khersonshchyna. Art Resistance," delivering authentic voices of poets who lived through the occupation of the city.

The Satire Theater (Kropyvnytskyi) will perform "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" by Martin McDonagh, among others.

The First Theater will host the Chernihiv Youth Theater with the play "Goodbyemylove, or, Girls, You're Welcome Here" by Laura Cunninghame (a company of women who, each escaping her own life, come together due to one character's pregnancy), and the Vinnytsia Music and Drama Theater named after Sadovsky will present "Night of the Wolves" by Oleksandra Viter (the drama unfolds among a pack of wolves fleeing from hunters who find themselves on top of a mountain).

The Lesya Kurbas Theater will feature the Platform of Contemporary Dance with performances titled "Dance Macabre. Immortal Dance" and "Traces." This production is born at the intersection of dance, physical theater, and music. The director and artist for these performances is Bohdan Polishchuk.

The play "Movoyu Troyand" (In the Language of Roses) by the Kyiv-based theater "Suziria," featuring Hanna Mykhailychenko in the role of poet and journalist Olha. The script was written by Natalia Kolesnychenko-Bratun.

Productions from Lviv theaters, such as the "Resurrection" Theater's performance of "Budynok bez Nomeru" (House Without a Number) by Yaroslav Fedoryshyn, Lesya Kurbas Theater's adaptation of Ivan Franko's "Zakhar Berkut," Maria Zankovetska Theater's "Zemlia" (Earth) by Olga Kobylianska, and "Rizanyna" by Jasmin Reza from the "Oko" Theater. Additionally, the puppet theater will present "Zasvitne Tango."

Street performances, including a special guest from France, Pat Belland, who will roam the streets of Lviv for four hours to bring positive emotions to Lviv residents.

The Czech theater Vosa will present "Pershyi Krok" (First Step) in both evening and daytime formats at the FESTrepublic venue.

While there won't be a traditional carnival parade this year, the festival will kick off with a theatrical opening at the "Resurrection" Theater.

The "Golden Lion-2023" festival aims to celebrate Ukrainian resilience and includes a rich program of theater performances from both Ukrainian and international theaters.