Bunker Cabaret
Bunker Cabaret is a performance by Hooligan Art Community that started life in the bomb shelters of Kyiv.
The Hooligan Art Community combined music, poetry, dance and film to create a unique theatre event and explore love versus totalitarianism and the personal conflicts of making art in a time of war. By turns ironic, raw, funny and devastating, the performance starkly revealed the performer’s individual experiences of the war while communicating a shared humanity, creating beautiful moments of connection between artists and audiences.
The UK tour of Bunker Cabaret both brought a vital and beautiful piece of theatre to UK audiences and supported Hooligan Art Community’s displaced artists to continue their important work in a safe environment while bringing the reality of the war to audiences who have only known Ukraine through TV and Social Media. Performances have already taken place in London, Oxford, Waterford, Belper, Falmouth, Redruth and Wigan.
Hooligan Art Community co-founder and performer Danylo Shramenko said: “When we were reunited in the UK, we felt a responsibility to be a voice for Ukrainians and artists who cannot leave the country. Ukraine has a remarkable independent cultural scene, which we want to represent in the UK. Making new work together is a lifeline for us. This is the beginning of a new chapter for our company and our lives.”
Alongside the performances in London, there was a screening of films by Hooligan Art Community in partnership with the Courtauld and Voices of Ukraine, as well as an accompanying booklet with contributions from authors and academics in Somerset House (London) on 18 February 2023.
Hooligan Art Community is an independent theatre company established in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2019. The group performs in non-traditional spaces that explore the dynamic relationship between the actor and the audience.
The UK tour was co-produced by Hooligan Art Community and Mahogany Opera in collaboration with Andrea Ferran and imPOSSIBLE Producing. Andrea was British Council Resident Director at Ivano-Frankivsk National Theatre, Ukraine. Bunker Cabaret was developed with support from Britten Pears Arts, 101 Outdoor Arts, Volta International Festival and Somerset House Exchange and funded by Urgent Action Fund and crowdfunding support, with additional funding from Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
Performers: Mirra Zhuchkova, Sam Kyslyi, Danylo Shramenko, Natalka Perchyshyna
Lighting designer: Natalka Perchyshyna
Video artist: Liubov Sliusareva
Costume designer: Paul Kuraksin
Movement and Dramaturgical Consultant: Mathis Kleinschnittger
Director: Peter Cant