Pussycat In Memory Of Darkness

★★★★★ Five Stars, The Stage
★★★★★ Five Stars, Libby Purves theatreCat
★★★★★ Five Stars, London Pub Theatres
★★★★ Four Stars, The Guardian
★★★★ Four Stars, Ajhlovestheatre
★★★★ Four Stars, West End Evenings
★★★★ Four Stars, Jewish Renaissance
★★★★ Four Stars, Close-Up Culture
★★★★ Four Stars, The UpComing
★★★ Three Stars, The Observer
OffWestEnd Award Nomination Best New Play – Pussycat in Memory of Darkness
OffWestEnd Award Nomination Lead Performance in a Play – Kristin Milward

Donbas, 2014. A nameless woman stands in the street. Wearing a pair of dark black sunglasses, she tries to sell a basket of kittens. She has lost everything else she holds dear: her home, her family, her hope.  

Russia has taken over Crimea and stirred up ongoing violence in her beloved homeland of Donbas. Betrayed by her neighbour and brutalised by Russian-backed militia, her hope has waned for humanity. She can only now place her hope in finding a home for a basket of kittens, a home she cannot offer. 

An urgent piece of new writing from Neda Nezhdana that starkly reveals the roots of Russia’s war on Ukraine through the eyes of one woman. Its original production at the Finborough Theatre in August 2022 as part of Two Ukrainian Plays received huge press acclaim. The play was nominated for both Best Lead Performance in A Play and Best New Play (one of three selected finalists) in the OffWestEnd Awards.  

The Finborough Theatre was the first foreign theatre to perform in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in a unique collaboration between the Finborough Theatre and the Pro-English Theatre, Kyiv with performances at the the Pro-English Theatre and the National Les Kurbas Centre, in December 2022.

PUSSYCAT IN MEMORY OF DARKNESS POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS

On Thursday, 6 April, Wednesday, 19 April and Friday, 21 April 2023 there will be post-show discussions held, free to ticketholders of that evening’s performance.

On Thursday, 6 April, the Finborough Theatre welcomes Peter Cant and Sam Kyslyi, two co-founders of Hooligan Art Community formed in Kyiv, 2019, to discuss with film and theatre director Andrea Ferran the experience of creating Ukrainian theatre and sharing it with audiences overseas. Hooligan Art Community are currently touring Europe with their production Bunker Cabaret, an exploration of love in the face of totalitarianism, final performance on 31 March, Longfield Hall, London.

On Wednesday, 19 April, the Finborough Theatre welcomes cast Kristin Milward, Director Polly Creed, Translator John Farndon and, joining virtually from Ukraine, Playwright Neda Nezhdana and Artistic Director Alex Borovenskiy of the ProEnglish Theatre, Kyiv, to discuss the history and making of Pussycat in Memory of Darkness.

On Friday, 21 April, the Finborough Theatre welcomes eminent Ukrainian film and theatre actor Kate Vostrikova, translator and founder of Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings John Freedman, appearing virtually from Crete, and translator and curator of multiple international theatre projects William Gregory, chaired by translator Dr Margherita Laera, Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre at Kent University, to discuss the efforts of the theatre translation community and the experience of translating and performing Ukrainian theatre across the world.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE WILL BE NO PERFORMANCES THURSDAY,13 APRIL TO SUNDAY,16 APRIL 2023 WHEN IT PLAYS AT THE HESSISCHES STAATSTHEATER WIESBADEN, GERMANY. More details here.