VAINGLORY - A POEM

The Finborough Theatre’s ongoing #VoicesFromUkraine season continues with the world premiere of Vainglory, the final part of Bréon Rydell’s trilogy of poems responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, confronting both the violence of power and the silence that allows it to endure.

Moving between the horrific massacres at Bucha and the corridors of Western influence, Vainglory delivers a scathing indictment of dictatorship – exposing the spectacle of tyranny and the moral fatigue of those who watch.

Both indictment and lament, Vainglory asks what it means to speak truth when conscience itself is under siege.

Vainglory is now available to stream free on the Finborough Theatre YouTube channel (and will be available shortly on all major podcast platforms), and is also available as part of a playlist featuring the complete trilogy – Stand Up for Ukraine and Freedom War.

Stand Up For Ukraine (2022)Bréon Rydell’s open letter highlighting the horrific consequences of war against an independent, democratic state and its people.

Inspired by Rydell’s words, Ukrainian artist Anna Heller, working from her temporary home in Berlin, created a
powerful sonic landscape – drawn from her deeply personal experience of the war. Scottish composer Ross Whyte’s haunting piece Tonight and Tomorrow underscores the work, and forms the film’s closing movement, deepening its tone of reflection and resolve.

A rallying cry for justice and freedom, the piece calls for a more courageous global response in support of Ukraine’s battle against the brutal authoritarian invasion by the Russian military.

Freedom War (2023)
Performed by Bréon Rydell with guest recitation by Yuriy Sak, Advisor to the Ukrainian Minister of Defence.

Inspired by the experiences of Gennadiy Kurochka, co-founder of the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center and the first Ukrainian recipient of the Cannes Lions “Witness” Award, and by the many people of Ukraine who stood defiant during the 2013 Maidan protests and lost their lives in the struggle for liberty.

A beautiful and powerful tribute to all who have sacrificed – and continue to risk their lives – for freedom, in Ukraine and beyond.