East European Performing Arts Platform (EEPAP) supports the
development of contemporary performing arts (dance and theatre)
in 18 countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Reading of FEMEN’izm by Den Gumenny, 16.03.2016, Lublin, Poland

BMF

 

On Wednesday, March 16th, we are reading the play "FEMEN’izm" by Den Humenny. The text will not be presented as a performance and anyone can join the reading. To confirm your participation, please contact the organizers via e-mail address to obtain the text of the drama. The number of prints available on site will be limited.

The play reading will be held in Polish. The text was translated into Polish by Robert Sknadaj. The play was published is the first volume of the Anthology of Modern Ukrainian Drama edited by Anna Korzeniowska-Bihun and Andrei Moskvin.

To obtain the text please write to: [email protected]

The play "FEMEN'izm" by Den Gumenny is a reflection on the feminist discourse in the contemporary political and cultural climate of Ukraine as well as its neighboring, post-communist countries - Russia and Belarus. The multilateral presentation of the issue of gender (in)equality gives rise to more questions than answers. The play is thought provoking. The text, authored by a young Ukrainian, belongs to the post-dramatic poetic paradigm. The traditional cause-and-effect relations within the plot are replaced by fragmented stories. The play presents a reduction of specificity of time and space, and refuses to divide characters into major and minor. The author combines artistic and documentary monologues. A TV studio is a place for a meeting between historical figures such as Rosa Luxemburg and Clara Zetkin with representatives of our generation who, even now, perceive the idea of emancipation of women very differently. The discussion focuses on FEMEN, the participants of which are also present in the room. The members of the group also appear in other scenes of the play.

Does FEMEN and its activities represent the only face of Ukrainian feminism? Can this method of introducing feminist discourse into public opinion find understanding in Ukrainian society? How does the female body become a political body in post-Soviet countries and how is it transformed into an instrument of various manipulations? How can we reach a constructive dialogue in the meeting point of conservative and liberal worldviews? We may get an answer from the author himself, as he wakes up from the postmodern death and unexpectedly appears in the text of the play.

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