Berezil Theatre
Avant-garde theatre troupe in Ukrainian SSR (1922–33)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Berezil Theatre (Uk: Театр «Березіль») (1922–1933) was an avant-garde Soviet Ukrainian national theatre troupe, and "the largest state-funded theater in Soviet Ukraine."[1] Founded by Les Kurbas, who was considered the greatest theater director of the 20th century, the theatre was named for March (Uk: березень, pronounced berezen), the first month of spring in Ukrainian and a period identified with renewal, an approach Kurbas "intertwined with Impressionism, Symbolism, and the experimental."[2][3] "The overarching goal of Berezil's productions," he said, "was the synthesis of speech, movement, gesture, music, light, and decorative art into one rhythm or simple, dramatic language, based on the belief that theater shapes rather than reflects life."[4] In 1920, he summarized a successful performance by saying: "There were those who cried for us. There were those who thought that only our performances made them conscious Ukrainians."[3]
Театр «Березіль» | |
The Berezil Theatre (1922–33) | |
 Interactive map of Berezil Theatre | |
| Address | 9 Sumska Street Kharkiv Ukraine |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50.0006°N 36.2312°E |
| Capacity |
|
| Type | Avant-garde |
Current use | Kharkiv Ukrainian Drama Theatre |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1922 |
| Closed | 1933 |
| Website | |
| Theatre website | |
| 🇺🇦 | State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine | |
Originally based in Kyiv, the troupe relocated to Kharkiv in 1926.[5] Also known as Artistic Organization Berezil’ (BAA):
At its height, Berezil included six actors' studios (three in Kyiv, one each in Bila Tserkva, Boryspil, and Odesa), close to 400 actors and staff members, a directors' lab, a design studio, a theater museum, and ten committees, including a ‘psycho-technical’ committee that used applied psychology to develop new teaching methods for actors and directors.[4] The BAA organised the publication of the Barricades of Theatre (Uk: Barykady teatru) magazine and the Museum Commission, which collects documents on the history of Ukrainian theatre and creates a museum — known today as the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine.[3]
In 1925, Vadym Meller was awarded a gold medal by the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts (Art Deco) in Paris for his scenic design at the Berezil. In 1927, Kurbas and the Berezil began collaborating closely with Ukrainian playwright Mykola Kulish. After the production of Kulish's last play, Maklena Grasa, Kurbas was sent into exile by the Commissariat of Enlightenment.[6]
The theatre is now used by The Kharkiv Ukrainian Drama Theatre also known as the Taras Shevchenko Kharkiv Academic Ukrainian Drama Theatre (Uk: Харківський академічний український драматичний театр імені Тараса Шевченка), which is a national theatre with two stages: the largest has 900 seats, the other, known as the "Berezil Small Stage," has 115 seats.[7][8] Its collection, now known as the Berezil museum collection, is now housed in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (Building 24).[9]
Select productions
- Haz (Gas), 1922, written by Georg Kaiser[7]
- Macbeth, 1924, written by William Shakespeare[10]
- Dance of numbers, 1927, directed by Les Kurbas, set design by Vadym Meller[11]
- Narodnyi Malakhii (The People’s Malakhii), 1927, written by Mykola Kulish[7]
- Sonata Pathétique, written by Mykola Kulish[12]
- Maklena Grasa, 1933, written by Mykola Kulish[7]
Gallery
Directing staff of the Berezil Art Association, 1925.
Students in front of the Berezil Theatre, 1922.
Berezil Poster, 1926.
From: Barricades of the Theatre weekly. Fragment of the exhibition "Names Crossed Out of Posters" at the Bykivnia Memorial, August 2021.
Wall plaque commemorating Berezil Theatre founding director Les Korbas.
Floor plaque commemorating the Berezil Theatre.
Wall plaques commemorating the Berezil Theatre.
Berezil Poster, 1924.
Actors preparing for the play Maklena Grassa at the Berezil Theater, 1933.
Links
External links
- Berezil, Encyclopedia of Ukraine
- Berezil: a Ukrainian Theater Ahead of Its Time (brief video)
- Open Kurbas: Digital Collection is a project of the Museum of Theater, Music and Cinema of Ukraine to digitize 12,000 museum objects and create a bilingual (Ukrainian and English) website with open access to a collection of memorabilia related to the renowned 20th century director Les Kurbas.
