ONLINE THEATRE REVIEW: Our ResponsAbility - Pro-English Theatre, Ukraine (on Youtube)

This play was in one sense a collection of verbatim amplified monologues, delivered in a very Brechtian style. It was more than that though, involving interactions with other actors, emotive performances, the varied use of live music (including some singing) and at times, considerable physicality. With a black box set, all the focus was directly on each performer as they each gave their own intimate account of harrowing experiences against the backdrop of a wider conflict.

The subject matter is essentially a collection of stories of various key workers who stayed at their jobs during the on-going war in Ukraine. Not surprisingly, there is a lot of harrowing detail, becoming all the more powerful when you realised each story was based on actual interviews of people from different regions of Ukraine. This was performance-theatre effectively becoming docu-drama. Just the right balance was achieved between giving an account of what had happened and re-living the emotions experienced.

The style of presentation made a lot of use of music, not just for background or interlude effect but amplifying the drama. An example was the use of short, hard cello sounds echoing dramatic statements. Some songs were interspersed and on occasion, the actors related directly to the music; such as when a cello was told to ‘shut up’. This creative use of music lifted the play from being just monologue to enhancing the emotions with a sense of urgency. However, there was no dilution of the details as each speaker’s experiences. 

There was an effective cross-section of various elements of society including a young store worker, a surgeon, a train conductor and a teacher. Each doing different, everyday jobs but every one of them under the conditions of war, from taking care of the wounded to helping with evacuations to simply working in buildings subject to shelling and without light and heat.

Perhaps the most striking thing of these very real accounts was no one complained. There was no attempt to hide their emotions but the emphasis was how each of them just got on with what needed to be done. The clue was in the usage of the capital letter A in the title; using the abilities we have to respond to others’ needs in adversity. A strong and well-acted production, very ably written and directed by Vitalii Havura.

Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 5.10.23