INTERVIEW: A Digital Pint with… ProEnglish Theatre, on a Journey to Ukrainian Past, Present & Future

We’re celebrating the opening of Prague Fringe by shining a light on a number of shows headed to the festival this week. ProEnglish Theatre of Ukraine are returning to the festival this year with their show Once Upon a Time in Ukraine, following four Ukrainian girls: Sasha, Masha, Dasha and Vitalina, who find themselves stuck in a place they can’t get out of. We caught up with the troupe to find out more about what inspired the show and how it’s ended up on a Prague stage.

You can catch Once Upon a Time in Ukraine as part of Prague Fringe at Divadlo Inspirace on the 27th May (17:30, 1hr15mins) & 30th May (16:15, 1hr15mins). Tickets are available through the Prague Fringe Online Box Office.

Jake: Hi team – start by telling us a bit about ProEnglish Theatre of Ukraine, and how you’ve ended up performing at Prague Fringe.

Natalia, assistant director (she/her): ProEnglish Theatre is an independent theatre from Kyiv, Ukraine. We have been the only theatre producing English-speaking plays since 2018. Since the start of the full-scale war in our country, our mission has been to spread the word about Ukraine, Ukrainian culture and the reality Ukrainian people live in, all around the world. We have been traveling a lot, performing our shows in Italy, Spain, Poland, Iceland, Sweden, Germany. We have been good friends with Prague Fringe festival ever since 2022, when we performed our monodrama “Book of Sirens”, directed by Alex Borovenskiy. We received a very warm welcome from the audience and the organisers, so we attended the festival in 2023 and 2024 as well, with other shows, telling the stories of Ukraine to the kindest Prague audience. This year we return again with another show directed and written by Alex (though, he is staying in Kyiv this time 😉) and are super excited to see Prague!

Jake: Tell us about Once Upon A Time in Ukraine, the four main characters Sasha, Masha, Dasha and Vitalina, and the journey they go on.

Slava, who plays Vitalina (she/her): Once Upon A Time in Ukraine is a show based on the personal testimonies of Ukrainian refugees in Germany or in the west of Ukraine, who fled Mariupol, Irpin, or Kyiv in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion. However, we add many elements of comedy and mystery to those stories in the show. Imagine the situation: Four girls wake up in a strange place, having no recollection of who they are and where they are. The journey down the memory lane takes them to all the places that they escaped to: an evacuation train, a sauna in a small German town, or a favorite café in Lviv. Despite having their own distinct and funny personalities, Sasha, Dasha, Masha and Vitalina all tell the story of real women, but kinda making them their own. Which sometimes results in a weird situation, like Sasha (who is played by a 15-year-old Kira) all of a sudden having an adult son. Once Upon a Time in Ukraine is a journey to Ukrainian past, present and future, what was, what could have been and what will be.

Jake: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?

Maryna, who plays Dasha (she/her): Our Ukrainian bracelets and beer? (laughs) Well, I do hope that the audience will leave the show with a smile. We want them to laugh with us, to think about themselves, and to see Ukrainians as real humans, not some stereotypes of victims or heroes of war. Real people, with their quirks, with their flaws and habits. Funny, smart, sleepy and tired, and who love to eat on the train, heh. And also, we want the audience to feel like they are not alone in this world. No matter how hard is life, there will always be someone who can be there for you.

Jake: Tell us about how the show has ended up being performed at Prague Fringe, and what you’re most excited for about the festival.

Kira, who plays Sasha (she/her): This is gonna be our second tour with this show, we premiered it in February 2024 in Germany. We had three shows in three days in three different towns. That was quite a crazy trip, but a great adventure anyway. We didn’t have much time to really feel the German spirit, so I am looking forward to exploring the city of Prague, its culture and meeting lots of amazing creative people.

Vero, who plays Masha (she/they): Yeah, as Natalia has already mentioned, ProEnglish Theatre has been to Prague Fringe three times, so the moment the applications opened, we submitted ours, there was no doubts we will be going! I am personally looking forward to establish new connections with the artists from all around the world, and hear more about their experiences and struggles, as all the artists have.

Jake: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?

Vero, who plays Masha (she/they) : Oh, that’s an easy one – a can of cold and tasty Lvivske beer. Why? Come see the show and taste it for yourself!

A reminder, you can catch Once Upon a Time in Ukraine as part of Prague Fringe at Divadlo Inspirace on the 27th May (17:30, 1hr15mins) & 30th May (16:15, 1hr15mins). Tickets are available through the Prague Fringe Online Box Office.