07.11.2024
MOTHERS OPEN EURO- SCENE LEIPZIG FESTIVAL AT Schauspiel Leipzig / Große Bühne, Nov 7. 2024

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They are 9 to 71 years young. Women from Ukraine, Poland and Belarus. The Ukrainians, as mothers and daughters directly affected by the Russian invasion, fled the war; the Belarusians fled atrocities. The Poles took them into their homes. The 21 women confront violence with plenty of warmth and solidarity, and with that their concentrated collective vocal power. In MOTHERS, they sing under the direction of the Polish director Marta Górnicka in the tradition of the Schtschedrywka. These are folk songs that wish people luck and happiness, here interwoven with chants, that tell of anger, longing and love. Marta Górnicka directs the choir from within the audience and thus creates a lively connection with the singers. Together they dared to step on stage, because they can no longer hide their feelings and want to write their story themselves, instead of living in the knowledge that their part of truth would be suppressed should the war reports once again be written by the victors and men. As singing protagonists, they call out to us not to forget the war unleashed by Russia on Ukrainian soil. So MOTHERS questions Western Europe’s role: Have you really done enough to support Ukraine? The mothers there would more than like to protect their children and dedicate their Schtschedrywka to them, this ancient Ukrainian rite from pre-Christian times, performed by women and children since time immemorial. But how is that supposed to work if sons and also daughters need to go to the front?