"Mothers. A Song for Wartime" directed by Marta Górnicka in Heidelberg

"Mothers. A Song for Wartime" is a deeply moving, primal theatrical experience achieved through a minimalist form that grips the throat long after the applause has faded.

“Our play is about women and war.
About defense mechanisms, about responsibility.
About our response to the war in Europe.
About the rituals of wartime violence against women and civilians, which remain unchanged.”
— Marta Górnicka

The rituals of wartime violence against women are unchanging. War poses ultimate questions for Europe: about responsibility in the face of threat and about our defensive mechanisms. Drawing from the testimonies of mothers and children—Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Poles; those who fled war, those who escaped persecution, and those who opened their homes in Poland—director Marta Górnicka, creator of The Chorus of Women and founder of the Political Voice Institute at Berlin’s Maxim Gorki Theater, creates a choral performance together with her ensemble.

The production features 21 Ukrainian, Polish, and Belarusian women aged 9 to 71, each with unique political experiences and life stories—refugees from Mariupol, Kyiv, Irpin, and Kharkiv. This CHORUS OF MOTHERS FOR WARTIME seeks a new post-operatic choral voice, echoing the women’s choruses of the 7th century BCE.

Ukrainian children’s rhymes, traditional songs, spells, and political statements intertwine onstage.

The performance has won numerous awards, toured internationally, and will be featured at the Divine Comedy Festival in Kraków in 2024. It will also be a cornerstone of the cultural program accompanying Poland’s upcoming EU Council Presidency.

"Mothers. A Song for Wartime"
Concept & Direction: Marta Górnicka
Libretto: Marta Górnicka & Ensemble (Ukrainian-Belarusian-Polish)
Music: Marta Górnicka
Choreography: Evelin Facchini
Scenography: Robert Rumas
Costumes: Joanna Załęska

Cast:
Liza Kozlova, Palina Dabravoĺskaja, Svitlana Onischak, Kateryna Taran, Svitlana Berestovska, Valeriia Obodianska, Sasha Cherkas, Mariia Tabachuk, Yuliia Ridna, Natalia Mazur, Aleksandra Sroka, Katarzyna Jaźnicka, Bohdana Zazhytska, Anastasiia Kulinich, Hanna Mykhailova, Katerina Aleinikova, Elena Zui-Voitekhovskaya, Kamila Michalska, Maria Robaszkiewicz, Polina Shkliar, Ewa Konstanciak, Volha Kalakoltsava

Premiere: September 29, 2023, Teatr Powszechny, Warsaw