#Art

“I was given a weapon, a uniform, and the rank of senior soldier,” actor Yaroslav Podshyvalov says. “The Russians were already on the outskirts of Kharkiv. The path was already set for me.”

In wartime Ukraine, a shift is unfolding behind the curtains of the country’s theaters. As male actors are mobilized to the front, women are stepping into their roles. On stage and off, they are reimagining not only their characters, but their place in a society reshaped by Russia’s invasion.

Ukraine’s Kobzars were once the nation’s living memory—blind troubadours who sang of war, loss, and resilience. Nearly erased by Soviet purges, their tradition endures, echoing through time.

In Kharkiv, a city battered by relentless Russian attacks, artists, curators, and performers refuse to leave their home. They won’t let the war silence them. Their studios double as bomb shelters, their exhibitions continue even amid blackouts, and their theaters adapt to missile alerts. 

In a city where air raid sirens punctuate daily life and the weight of war is felt in every street, Macbeth has struck a nerve. With tickets sold out until May, betrayal, power, and paranoia are no longer just themes on stage but echoes of a country fighting for its survival.