The Live Canon ensemble and the Ukrainian Institute London are seeking funding to stage the UK premiere of CASSANDRA by Ukraine's pioneering feminist writer, Lesia Ukrainka.

We need your support to give a platform to Ukrainian theatre, which is so little-known in the UK, and to celebrate Ukraine's unique culture, currently under attack by Russia.

Never a more poignant time

At the core of this play is Cassandra's fierce commitment to truth and to justice in the face of oppression. Its gripping relevance to Ukraines resistance against Russia's ongoing aggression makes it more important than ever to introduce this extraordinary work to English-language audiences.

The play also shows the experience of war and brutality from a woman's perspective, which is so often missing from newsreels and history books. Written in 1908, this work was revolutionary in retelling the myth of Troy from the point of view of Cassandra, a marginal character in the male-centric Iliad, who becomes the story's fiery heroine in Lesia Ukrainka's interpretation.

Now, in a fresh translation by Nina Murray, who was awarded the Ukrainian Institute London's 2021 Literature in Translation Prize, we look forward to bringing this monumental work to UK audiences for the first time in a bold, women-led production that celebrates Ukraine's unique culture and the indomitable human spirit.

Lesia Ukrainka - the fin-de-siecle feminist everyone should know

The modernist Ukrainian writer Lesia Ukrainka (1871-1913) pioneered a new feminist literature at the forefront of contemporary European trends. She retold European classics with a woman's voice, and her interpretation of the myth of Troy places the Trojan prophetess Cassandra centre stage, as she relays the war epic from her point of view. Meanwhile, Ukrainka's play The Stone Host is a radical feminist take on the Don Juan myth. Learn more about Lesia Ukrainka in this blogpost by the British Library and the Ukrainian Institute London's short video about Ukrainka's work, with literary scholar Dr Sasha Dovzhyk.

Perks for your donations!

- Donate £250 or more to receive a free ticket to the production

- Donate £500 or more to receive a free ticket + signed copy of Nina Murray's translation of the play, published by Harvard University Press

- Donate £1,000 or more for 2 tickets for press night + drinks reception and signed copy of Nina Murray's translation

- Donate £3,000 or more for all of the above + come to watch a rehearsal and have lunch with the company!

About Live Canon

The Live Canon ensemble specialise in working with verse and have performed all over the world from Broadway to Abbey Road.

The production of Cassandra will be directed by Helen Eastman, whose work has included The Cure at Troy (Delphi International Festival and world tour), Bridgetower (Hackney Empire and UK tour), Fair (Trafalgar Studios) and Bicycle Boy (GDIF and Uk tour), and advising on many contemporary productions of Ancient Greek plays, most recently Paradise, by Kae Tempest at the National Theatre.

The set and costume designer for the production will be Neil Irish (English Touring opera, New Wolsey, Guildford Shakespeare Company).

About the translator, Nina Murray

Nina Murray was born and raised in the Western Ukrainian city of Lviv. She is the author of the poetry collection Alcestis in the Underworld (Circling Rivers Press, 2019) as well as chapbooks Minimize Considered (Finishing Line Press, 2018), Minor Heresies (Heartland Review Press, 2020), and Damascus Electric (Pen & Anvil Press, 2020). Her translations from Russian and Ukrainian include Peter Aleshkovskys Stargorod, Oksana Zabuzhkos Museum of Abandoned Secrets, and Oksana Lutsyshynas Ivan and Phoebe (forthcoming from Deep Vellum).

About the Ukrainian Institute London

The Ukrainian Institute London is an independent charity dedicated to broadening knowledge about Ukraine through cultural events and educational courses. In 2021, Nina Murray's translation of Cassandra won the Ukrainian Institute Londons Ukrainian literature in translation prize.