Women Take on Male Roles at Ukraine Theater Company as Men Are Called to War

When many of their male actors went into the military, the women have taken the spotlight at a small theater company in Ukraine. According to the Associated Press, women are taking on traditionally male roles at Chernihiv Regional Youth Theater. 

“We were rehearsing Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’ when suddenly our men were taken to the front,” said Roman Pokrovskyi, the theater's director. “We only had the female part of the troupe left. So we thought, ‘Well, if men played women in Shakespeare’s times, why not give it a try?'”

Four of the theater's male actors and five stage workers have joined the army since Ukraine was invaded by Russia in 2022. Only two men still perform, and most stage work is done by women, as well as cloakroom attendants, cashiers, cleaners, and cafeteria workers.

One of the theater's remaining male actors, Oleksii Bysh, also shared that one actor, Kostiantyn Slobodeniuk, went missing, and the company's sound operator, Dmytro Pohuliaylo, also disappeared at the end of 2024.

Go inside the theater in a video from Euro News below:

Next up for the company is Hetman, starring an all-female cast. The play is based on the life of Ivan Mazepa, a 17th century Cossack leader.

The company also remains aware of the ongoing threat to their area. Before every performance at the theater, a recorded announcement reminds audiences that the show will be paused in the event of an air raid alert. The alarm reportedly happens at nearly every second performance, which forces everyone inside to move into bomb shelters.

Read the original story on Associated Press.