One of the leaders of the new wave of Ukrainian directors, Stas Zhyrkov's play "Sasha, Take Out the Garbage", based on the play of the same name by Ukrainian playwright Natalya Vorozhbit, talks about modern Ukraine, echoes of the Maidan, and the difficult part of Ukrainian women. The title refers to Saša, a recently deceased officer who believes that death is a completely inappropriate excuse for someone sworn to defend the homeland. As a result, he is determined to return to this world, to the politically troubled Ukraine, and go to the battlefield. His widow and pregnant stepdaughter do not agree with this, they do not want to experience the pain of loss again. The work, in which one can recognize the tradition of Ukrainian literary mysticism, asks how to live after losing a loved one, how to come to terms with death.
It seems to me that it is still impossible to come to terms with the loss of loved ones. The theme of death touched upon in the play is extremely relevant these days, because now death is very close, we feel its fear and panting every day, says the director. S. Žyrkov.
Although the play contains clear allusions to recent Ukrainian history, the play weaves together different genres to reveal archetypal themes of relationships and the impact of history's cataclysms on the lives of ordinary people. N. Vorožbit's own father was an officer who died before 2014. events in Ukraine. Thus, the play was inspired by the playwright's personal experience, her desire to reflect on her father's death. Through an exciting and surreal story of one family, N. Vorožbit unsentimentally reflects on the influence of war on people's destinies. The play also convincingly shows how men and women view war differently.
According to director S. Žyrkov, playwright N. Vorožbit is based on the Gogolian tradition in her play - there is both mysticism and humor here. In the first part of the play, Sasha comes to Katya and Oksana (wife and stepdaughter) - at first it is hard to even understand that he is dead. In the second part, the action takes place in a cemetery, and it seems to try to come to terms with the circumstances. Finally, the third part talks about the year 2014 - Maidan.
This topic is very relevant at the moment, because millions of people are now experiencing the same nightmare that touched many back then - they are losing their loved ones, their homes, their land. They don't know if they can and will have somewhere to return. On the other hand, the performance also has an undoubted historical mission and perspective - it shows where it all started - it touches on the starting point of today's war, which we all watched at that time... - says the director. S. Žyrkov.
