Berliner Boersenzeitung - 'Recovery tool': theatre helps Ukrainian soldiers reintegrate

EUR -
AED 3.991556
AFN 72.785354
ALL 98.185363
AMD 420.119151
ANG 1.956425
AOA 991.094538
ARS 1076.136692
AUD 1.654728
AWG 1.956107
AZN 1.853194
BAM 1.953528
BBD 2.191841
BDT 129.720334
BGN 1.956331
BHD 0.40971
BIF 3153.803238
BMD 1.086726
BND 1.434918
BOB 7.501242
BRL 6.293233
BSD 1.085533
BTN 91.194783
BWP 14.513122
BYN 3.552552
BYR 21299.833188
BZD 2.188145
CAD 1.513565
CDF 3137.918729
CHF 0.942947
CLF 0.037865
CLP 1044.822024
CNY 7.742813
CNH 7.736724
COP 4805.285836
CRC 556.253101
CUC 1.086726
CUP 28.798244
CVE 110.137928
CZK 25.350277
DJF 193.304306
DKK 7.457984
DOP 65.373973
DZD 144.743223
EGP 53.179817
ERN 16.300893
ETB 133.336295
FJD 2.446004
FKP 0.831529
GBP 0.841957
GEL 2.983087
GGP 0.831529
GHS 17.618672
GIP 0.831529
GMD 77.157279
GNF 9362.112256
GTQ 8.3874
GYD 227.008088
HKD 8.452127
HNL 27.363799
HRK 7.48649
HTG 142.842566
HUF 408.513959
IDR 17139.465005
ILS 4.087992
IMP 0.831529
INR 91.362263
IQD 1422.052755
IRR 45743.024545
ISK 148.946356
JEP 0.831529
JMD 171.737906
JOD 0.770597
JPY 165.863209
KES 140.035648
KGS 93.244783
KHR 4410.829802
KMF 492.938491
KPW 978.05332
KRW 1497.932383
KWD 0.333212
KYD 0.904656
KZT 530.018488
LAK 23814.523848
LBP 97210.600886
LKR 318.01309
LRD 208.427607
LSL 19.164624
LTL 3.20882
LVL 0.65735
LYD 5.231891
MAD 10.681276
MDL 19.431313
MGA 5002.182671
MKD 61.61932
MMK 3529.644252
MNT 3692.6956
MOP 8.690873
MRU 42.923082
MUR 49.837625
MVR 16.68125
MWK 1882.310951
MXN 21.689821
MYR 4.759316
MZN 69.438353
NAD 19.164888
NGN 1784.795942
NIO 39.943547
NOK 11.956265
NPR 145.908301
NZD 1.819837
OMR 0.41839
PAB 1.085632
PEN 4.087884
PGK 4.348942
PHP 63.550113
PKR 301.647197
PLN 4.358637
PYG 8581.980032
QAR 3.95797
RON 4.975791
RSD 117.079495
RUB 105.812655
RWF 1478.081054
SAR 4.081608
SBD 9.037576
SCR 14.800761
SDG 653.667529
SEK 11.612979
SGD 1.438771
SHP 0.831529
SLE 24.614155
SLL 22788.101219
SOS 620.369973
SRD 37.347482
STD 22493.037897
SVC 9.49904
SYP 2730.432428
SZL 19.173702
THB 36.842736
TJS 11.561208
TMT 3.814409
TND 3.35526
TOP 2.545227
TRY 37.297965
TTD 7.366501
TWD 34.689358
TZS 2934.160447
UAH 44.740968
UGX 3974.414495
USD 1.086726
UYU 44.728394
UZS 13873.865277
VEF 3936722.688598
VES 46.355939
VND 27488.7388
VUV 129.018348
WST 3.04412
XAF 655.195036
XAG 0.032216
XAU 0.000399
XCD 2.936932
XDR 0.815951
XOF 655.192025
XPF 119.331742
YER 272.034693
ZAR 19.163574
ZMK 9781.843322
ZMW 29.065065
ZWL 349.925388
  • RBGPF

    59.6000

    59.6

    +100%

  • RYCEF

    0.0800

    6.94

    +1.15%

  • SCS

    -0.2000

    12.03

    -1.66%

  • CMSD

    -0.1700

    24.66

    -0.69%

  • AZN

    -1.6800

    71.15

    -2.36%

  • RELX

    -0.6900

    46.22

    -1.49%

  • CMSC

    -0.0400

    24.55

    -0.16%

  • NGG

    -1.4800

    63.59

    -2.33%

  • RIO

    -1.0100

    64.89

    -1.56%

  • GSK

    -0.2500

    36.76

    -0.68%

  • BTI

    0.6200

    34.98

    +1.77%

  • VOD

    -0.1200

    9.27

    -1.29%

  • JRI

    0.0300

    13.08

    +0.23%

  • BCE

    0.0200

    32.26

    +0.06%

  • BCC

    -1.3400

    133.03

    -1.01%

  • BP

    0.3400

    29.36

    +1.16%

'Recovery tool': theatre helps Ukrainian soldiers reintegrate
'Recovery tool': theatre helps Ukrainian soldiers reintegrate / Photo: Anatolii STEPANOV - AFP

'Recovery tool': theatre helps Ukrainian soldiers reintegrate

Gennadiy Odarenko sat in front of a microphone in a dark room in Kyiv, a spotlight shining on him as he spoke about the loss of his leg in battle.

Text size:

"I'm okay, just my leg is screwed," the 51-year-old said in a gentle voice, the slow strumming of a dulcimer accompanying him.

After he finished his one-man monologue, the audience applauded.

Odarenko is one of a handful of former and active soldiers telling their stories on stage for "Veterans' Theatre", a project aimed at helping servicemen reintegrate back into civilian life after the trauma of war.

Launched in the spring by Kyiv-based drama group Theatre of Playwrights, the soldiers write and perform pieces personal to them, giving them an outlet for their emotions and a way to build their confidence.

Odarenko worked for Ukraine's special forces before a Russian mine tore his leg off near the southern village of Robotyne, which has seen fierce fighting for more than a year.

His story is similar to those of tens of thousands of Ukrainians wounded since Russia invaded the country in 2022.

The night AFP visited, Odarenko performed a text that he wrote himself.

"I was just given the task to write, to write about the war, and the only story that came to my mind was the loss of my leg," he told AFP.

The project has backing from TRO Media, the communications arm of Ukraine's army.

The organisers hope to be eventually able to stage a play in a Kyiv theatre.

- 'Fear of losing my dream' -

Odarenko put his ideas on paper with help from members of the theatre group.

He said he was guided by his dreams.

"Dreams have everything, including fear," he said, adding that he was motivated by "the fear of losing my dream and not knowing what to do next and what to dream about".

Maksym Devizorov, a professional actor who is now a soldier too, is also taking part in the project, helping fellow soldiers turn their stories into plays.

He helped adapt a text on Ukraine's 2022 counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region, an operation that saw the Ukrainian army retake vast swathes of land from Russia.

Before Moscow invaded, Devizorov spent all his life "doing theatre", and still struggles to believe that he has been in the army for almost three years.

"All my life I was engaged in theatre. My life was carefree... I could have never thought that I would be in the army," he told AFP.

"And with the war, everything changed."

On stage with four other soldiers, he recreated the first hours of the counter-offensive in front of a captivated audience.

Some civilians also took part in the project, recounting their war experiences, for instance the occupation of the town of Irpin near Kyiv for several weeks in 2022.

Irpin, on the outskirts of the capital, was the scene of Russian atrocities and has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.

- 'Transfer to civilian life -

Both the soldiers and playwrights said the experience of telling stories on stage provided relief, as society deals with the long-term mental health consequences of the war.

Maksym Kurochkin, the creative director of Theatre of Playwrights and a serviceman, said the project was a huge morale boost.

Veterans telling their stories is a "powerful tool for recovery" that will allow traumatised people to "find their future again, confidence in their soul and their body," he said.

At the start of the project, the soldiers lacked confidence, he added.

"They would apologise for not being the heroes that they wanted to be," Kurochkin said, adding that the men also struggled when thinking of their comrades who had died or were still fighting.

But in theatre, he "saw their confidence come back."

That is the case for Odarenko, who said that sharing his experience with ordinary people would help him re-integrate into normal life.

"There is a stereotype that people who have been through war have a desire to forget," he said.

"For me, this is an experience that I can transfer to civilian life."

(Y.Yildiz--BBZ)