On December 1, the premiere of the mockumentary “SuchMyst in the Mystery” took place at the Odesa Academic Puppet Theatre
Andriy Liubov — an Odesa-based director, sculptor, and founder of the “Aloha” theatre — created a performative production that introduced the Odesa audience to the struggles of contemporary Ukrainian artists
The event took place thanks to the Antonin Artaud Fellowship, established by the proto produkciia foundation and the contemporary opera lab Opera aperta. A special competition for the South is held within the framework of the “Cultural Bridges: support of cultural figures from Southern regions of Ukraine” program, implemented by Insha Osvita with the support of the USAID project “Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative” (UCBI). The organizers express their gratitude to TD “Vina Svitу”, art dealer Vasylysa Drakonova, and the director of the Odesa Academic Puppet Theatre, Yosyp Merkovych
The project largely reflected the principles of Antonin Artaud’s “Theatre of Cruelty”
There was no script.Everything on stage and in the audience was left entirely to chance
Another key reference was Milo Rau’s Ghent Manifesto, which calls for bringing theatrical action closer to reality
At the entrance to the hall, guests became participants in the performance “To Step Over” a person and were immediately confronted with a dilemma:“To step over yourself” or “To step over another person”
The first thing the audience saw on stage was a nude model sitting with her back turned. The stage resembled a real artist’s studio, where a creative process was unfolding — accompanied by a tea ceremony, a fashion show, a historical
discourse on Saint Maurice of Thebes and the Spear of Destiny, as well as discussions of urgent political issues such as the need to dismantle monuments and the state’s meager funding of culture
How it unfolded :
Serhiy Anufriiev initiated a mystical tea ceremony
Volodymyr Umanenko, right on stage, created a new dress design from his sketches and dressed the delicate model Lisa
Olha Yenhibarova, the “mother of all geese,” arrived not without a goose up her sleeve
Yaroslav Voytsehovskyi spoke about Pushkin and the Indian goddess Kali
Denys Nedoluzhenko displayed paintings featuring deputies who were sometimes hanging upside down on towers bearing their own names, and at other times performing fellatio on each other
Serhiy Konyakhin told chilling stories about Saint Maurice of Thebes and the Spear of Destiny, brought to life by “soul-chilling” puppets
Art critic Uta Kilter, however, accused Serhiy of inexperience and the other participants of imprecise wording
The enchanting Margo showcased the beauty of her full figure and performed a dance set that she composed during the performance
Kateryna Biletina symbolically painted the coat of arms of Ukraine on the nude model
Stas Podlipskyi played and sang his original songs
At the end, an auction was held, led by Kateryna Chalaya and Oleksandr Perutskyi
The auction lots were sketches drawn from the nude models Lisa and Margo during the performance
MEDIA
More photos from the backstage
