‘Barvinok’ celebrates playwright’s Ukrainian cultural connection

By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on October 13, 2022.

Herald photo by Ry Clarke Lianna Makuch, centre, along with Maxwell Lebeuf, Kristen Padayas, Alexandra Dawkins and Tanya Pacholok, act out a scene from "Barvinok" playing now at the Sterndale Bennet Theatre.

Inspired by the experiences of the playwright’s grandparents who fled Ukraine during the Second World War, “Barvinok” by Lianna Makuch is currently on stage at the Sterndale Bennett Theatre.

Following character Hania, audiences are transported to Ukraine as she seeks a key piece of her family’s history. Transported through time and war, the play uses interviews with true accounts to help shape its story and characters giving an authentic look into Ukrainian culture and history.

“The sentiments that my Baba was sharing in her journal, that she had written over 70-years ago, were the same sentiments that people were sharing during the revolution in Ukraine today,” said Makuch, who also acts in the piece as Hania and Kateryna. “I traveled to Ukraine in 2017, three years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, travelling all over the country to my ancestral homelands of my grandparents. Which was also within five kilometers of what was then the frontline in eastern Ukraine. Those interviews shaped the content and the characters in the story.”

Lethbridge is the last stop on the tour for Barvinok, playing in Edmonton and Canmore before ending here.

“It has been a really meaningful experience for people who have had the opportunity to come and see the show,” said Makuch. “There is more awareness of what is happening in Ukraine right now, and what is special about sharing the show, is it is a story about Ukraine and about war. But also, a story about a celebration of Ukraine’s unity and resilience.”

New West Theatre is hosting the performance in the Sterndale Bennett Theatre, excited to have the piece for the community to come and enjoy.

“We don’t often get the opportunity to host shows from outside of town. It is a nice opportunity to get this important story told here in Lethbridge,” said Kelly Reay, artistic director for New West. “We are really fortunate to have this great studio space here, it is a different experience than a show you’d see at the Yates Theatre. The studio lends itself to a much more intimate experience, where the audience is feet away from the performance.”

Lending to that personal experience, the play features singing and music classic to Ukrainian heritage, pulling audiences in for a cultural experience.

“The show has traditional Ukrainian folk instruments,” said Makuch. “The cast has learned all of these instruments, and it is a beautiful music that is so central to Ukrainian culture and into the Ukrainian spirit. It is a really special way in which the show expresses the story.”

Bringing Ukrainian culture and history to the city until Oct. 22, Barvinok will transport audiences on a rich cultural journey.

“Barvinok is the title of the show, and it is the Ukrainian word for periwinkle. In the Ukrainian culture it is a symbol of resilience,” said Makuch. “When I think of my Baba, my grandmother, I think of flowers, I think of her garden, and I think that’s a sentiment a lot of people can have when they think of their grandparents and that connection to home and land.”