NH Theatre Projects Premiers IN THE GARDEN OF Z - A New Play About Family, Propaganda And War

New Hampshire Theatre Project presents In the Garden of Z, written by Sean and Jelizaveta Robinson and directed by Sean Robinson, January 19 to February 4.

Jelizaveta Robinson, a Russian woman who grew up in a former Soviet Republic, wants people to understand the Ukraine war from her point of view. Robinson, who now lives in Cape Neddick, spent two years researching the war in Ukraine and Russian history to come up with a play about war, propaganda and how the past can be rewritten.

Written along with her playwright husband, Sean Robinson, In the Garden of Z tells the story of a Russian girl's reaction to the horrors of the war in Ukraine. The play will have its world premiere Jan. 19 at the New Hampshire Theatre Project in Portsmouth.

"As a young Russian girl from Latvia, I learned about America through movies," said Robinson, who grew up in Riga, Latvia, and came to the United States in 2019 to live out her dream to be an actress. "Now I hope I have created art that can help people here better understand the culture I come from, the way I grew up, and how things are in the former Soviet States."

The 90-minute show considers how the war in Ukraine motivates 17-year-old year Sabina to examine her family, culture and history, and the nature of propaganda. With a six-person cast, the play considers how the war affects lives and divides communities.

Liza initially came to Los Angeles to study acting. There, she met Sean, who writes, directs, produces and acts. She made her stage debut at New Hampshire Theatre Project in May 2023 and continued in the fall with touring productions of Dreaming Again after the couple moved to Cape Neddick in 2023

“What we are presenting here at New Hampshire Theatre Project is something that feels like the most powerful, important work I've done in my life,” said Sean.

Liza, as Robinson is called, was giving birth to her son when the war in Ukraine broke out.

"I was watching Russia first invade Ukraine on the hospital television, and it seemed as though one beautiful thing was happening in this new world I had been living in for only a few years, while terrible tragedy was happening in the part of the world I had once called home,” said Liza, whose family roots are in Siberia and elsewhere in Russia. 

“I thought of my friends and family back in Russia and Latvia, and I thought, 'Surely, they must all see the terrible things going on there and be horrified - and strongly oppose such an invasion,” she said. Instead Liza found out she was sadly mistaken as she learned that many Russian friends and family members supported the war.

On a mission to find out why this was so, Robinson dove into researching Russian state media and propaganda used to gather support for the war.  She began to learn Russia's propaganda tools and techniques and, in the process, saw how these methods were being used in other places around the world, including the United States.

Liza learned some history of Russia that she had never known, facts about the Russian Revolution and the culture that developed after the demise of the Soviet Union, an event that had impacted her own family and childhood, as well. Latvia gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
To help turn her research and stories into a play, Liza asked for help from Sean, catching him up on what she had learned.

“I was intimidated by the amount of information Liza was bringing to me,” Sean said. “ It was overwhelming - but also incredibly motivating, fascinating, heartbreaking, and infuriating.”

The resulting script tells the story of a troubled Russian girl who is horrified by the war in Ukraine and pained by the world she sees around her. Ludmilla, Sabina's alcoholic mother, proudly supports Putin's war, and longs for what she sees as the glory days of the Soviet Union. Each night Ludilla listens to two Russian news reporters who are the show's voice and symbol of propaganda.

With few people around Sabina who can share her hurt and pain, she finds companionship in the diary of a Chechen teenager who lived in the 1990s during the wars there and in the history of a Rich Woman arrested during the Russian Revolution and sent to a Gulag.

As a final piece of the puzzle, the Robinsons got permission from poet Polina Zherebtsova, a survivor of the Chechnyan wars in the 90s, to use her famed diaries as inspiration for the  character of the same name, Polina, played by Corrie Owens-Beauchesne of Portsmouth. Through the deeply personal story of Polina, the tragedies - and universality- of war are examined.

The rest of the cast includes Constance Witman as Agnessa, the Gulag prisoner, Monique Foote and Kayt Houghton as the two Russian news anchors, and Tracy Mullen Cosker as Sabina's mother, Ludmilla.  Lighting design is by Christian Arnold, sets by Josh Goldberg, and stage management by Jessica Gero. 

In the Garden of Z runs January 19 to February 4, Fridays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 4:00 pm, Sundays at 2:30 pm, and Thursday, February 1 at 7:30 pm.

For ticket information, visit www.nhtheatreproject.org/onstagenow.

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