Veterans’ Theater performs modernized Eneida during National Barrier-Free Week in Kyiv
Director Olha Semoshkina reinterpreted the classic poem, turning it into a conversation about the experience of war, recovery, and the search for support after trauma.
Photo source: Ministry of Culture
The performance combines the classic text of Eneida with personal monologues about war, loss, and returning to civilian life. For the actors, taking part in the production is not only an artistic experience but also part of recovery and socialization.
Tetiana Berezhna stressed that culture has an extraordinary ability to speak about today's reality through texts and works written hundreds of years ago:
"Eneida is a work that shows the dignity and resilience of Ukrainians. This performance demonstrates how our defenders, male and female veterans, can convey their experience through art. It also shows the high price of our freedom and how art itself can help people recover and reintegrate."
The project brought together people who have been through the front line and the trials of war, but have rethought their own experience and now share it with society. The project's main idea is to open a path to inner healing and self-expression through body movement, words, and music.
The project's general producer, Andrii Rizol, emphasized the importance of cultural rehabilitation for veterans:
Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi, co-founder of the Veterans' Theater and head of the communications department of the command of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, shared the story of how the theater was created:
"We launched the pilot project, Veterans' Theater. We recruited 17 veterans and taught them how to write plays. Today, we are supported by an idea that we are moving forward ourselves. We are supported by people who believe in veterans."
Photo source: Ministry of Culture
Background
The performance was created with the support of MHP and the MHP-Hromadi Foundation. The organizers and partners are TRO Media, the Theater of Playwrights, Crimea House, and the "Watch Ukrainian!" Association.
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28 of May 2026
