REVIEW: PUSSYCAT IN MEMORY OF DARKNESS (TWO UKRAINIAN PLAYS) at Finborough Theatre 9 August - 3 September 2022

Pussycat in Memory of Darkness by Nada Nezhdana

‘Emotive and searing’ ★★★★★

Kristin Milward dominates the stage from the moment she steps on it, playing SHE in Neda Nezhdana’s play, Pussycat in Memory of Darkness, the second of the Two Ukrainian Plays, a timely production at the Finborough Theatre. Starting out as an Eliza Doolittle-esque character, with a box of kittens to give to a good home, she morphs into a Ukrainian housewife and mother who faces the most heart-breaking sacrifices. In this monologue, SHE captivates us with the story of her experiences in the Donbas region of Ukraine in 2014.

While SHE takes us through her own personal experience, of sending her children away to (hopeful) safety, and what happens when she stays behind, SHE also speaks of the history of protest and the cyclical nature of it. While she was at the Maidan in the early 1990s, her son was, like a déja vu, protesting in 2014. The complexity of the region is also hinted at by her own origins, which are Ukrainian and Russian - and Cossack - as well as the history of Crimea (“Crimea is not Russian, nor Ukrainian, nor Turkish. Crimea is Tatar.”)

Sharing the tale with urgency, SHE moves between the box of kittens and a well-kept family kitchen. The kittens’ purpose may be to find a way to thread the story, humanize the situation, give a home to this drifter, give a reason for her to tell her story. A story of historical justice (or lack of) and land grabs and political blindness.

Written by prominent Ukrainian playwright, Neda Nezhdana, this is the first time her work has been performed in London. Emotive and searing, there were some details that surprised me, concerned me, eluded me in this narrative but never was I so clear on the impact of the political decisions of 2014, and even earlier on, the drama we are seeing playing out on the world stage now.

Images: Charles Flint

Box Office: https://finboroughtheatre.co.uk/production/two-ukrainian-plays/

Written by Neda Nezhdana

Performed by Kristin Milward

Directed by Polly Creed

Translated by John Farndon

Set and Costume Designer: Ola Klos

Lighting Designer: Peter Harrison

Stage Manager: Rebecca Julia Jones

Reviewed by Mariam Mathew