“Draw me a plane”: a performance at the Theater on the Left Bank about forgiveness 60 years after the war

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Should we talk about the war in the theater? And if it is worth it, then how not to harm, not to injure? Can a performance be therapy? The key questions of the Ukrainian scenes, which have literally been floating in the air since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine. The Metropolitan Theater on the Left Bank is one of those theaters that dared to talk about the war in the war. After the premiere of “Give Up Your Body” by Anatoly Krym, which reveals the topic head-on and rather trivially, “Draw Me a Plane” directed by Mykhailo Urytskyi was shown here. In contrast to the first attempt at a current topic, it should be called successful – subtle and effective therapy. The premiere took place on May 6 and 7. The work tells neither about the modern war nor about Ukraine – it is based on the work of Eric Emmanuel Schmitt from the series “Revenge and Forgiveness” and tells about Germany in the early 2000s, but the analogies are read very clearly. In the center of the plot is 93-year-old Werner (played by Oleg Stefan), who was a pilot during the Second World War and sincerely considers his conscience untainted, because he “never flew a bomber and did not kill civilians.” Oleg Stefan embodied a former military pilot. Photo: Anastasia Mantach Werner buried his wife 30 years ago, the son of the hero (played by Dmytro Oliynyk, the rest of the cast – Maksym Samchyk) has been living his life for a long time and supposedly has unconditional trust in his father, but hardly really tries to understand him – and the only outlet the old pilot becomes a garden with flowers and memories of the days when he “could fly”. Read also: How they write about war in war and why the enemy should (not) be depicted as primitive: theater artists tell With such a set of boring, at first glance, features – the elderly Werner becomes the object of observation and even admiration of 8-year-old Daphne (Yulia Shapoval plays together with a copy-doll, the other team is Kateryna Kachan), who lives in the neighborhood. She knows exactly what is holding Werner’s life to this day – because she noticed a long time ago how fanatically he stares into the sky every time he hears the roar of planes. One day, the girl “breaks the boundaries” of the elderly pilot and bursts into his sophisticated world with a request-demand: “Draw me a plane.” The request easily reads a quote from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who asked the narrator to portray a lamb. Yulia Shapoval and Oleg Stefan played in the play “Draw me a plane”. Photo: Anastasia Mantach And the analogy here is not accidental – because the story of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry becomes a story within history. When young Daphne persuades her new “aggressively acquired” friend to read “The Little Prince” – they both become heroes of a new postmodern story, where everyone immerses himself in the fairy tale in order to guess himself in it. Of course, the first thing that history emphasizes is that Saint-Exupéry was also a pilot. And he also fought in the Second World War – however, on the other side. It is this fact of the biography, which is skillfully integrated into the performance, after conducting a whole – super boring – lecture by the charismatic scientist (played by the same Dmytro Oliynyk), that becomes the key to the “examination of conscience” of the 93-year-old Werner. After all, “never killing soldiers” and having a “clear conscience” – he hardly thought that one of his goals could be the author of a psychological novel-fairy tale, which is still enthusiastically quoted by millions of readers. Dmytro Oliynyk embodied the son of the main character. Photo: Anastasia Mantach The climax and denouement literally leave the viewer no chance not to share the hero’s drama – Oleg Stefan’s incredible performance makes one ache, cry and ultimately empathize with every step of Werner, who, having only little Daphne as his “lawyer” who, by virtue of his “magical ” of the age believes in universal forgiveness and a fairy-tale happy ending – he strives to achieve satisfaction that will at least somehow help him forgive himself. Read also: Important premieres in 2022: how Ukrainian theaters worked wonders under shelling At the request of Daphna “Draw me a plane!” the story begins with a fanatical romantic, a person who has been waiting for an examination of conscience for 60 years – the words touch the only living strings of an old, mutilated heart. The climax is triggered by Werner’s very request to the girl – and here the “romanticized” plane already becomes a symbol of sacrifice and retribution – self-forgiveness is possible only through an act – and Werner is capable of it. Yuliya Shapoval embodied 8-year-old Daphne, playing with a doll. Photo: Anastasia Mantach And the very request to “draw a plane”, spoken in a child’s voice, remains for a long, long time as an aftertaste from the viewing, layering the relevance. Will “those” who went to the “special operation”, “did not know, did not understand and only followed the order” be ashamed of our war – when a neighbor’s child will come and ask for something that will affect his life. Is there, it remains, will each of us have at least something so romanticized, powerful, capable of changing the entire perception of one’s own life – like old Werner’s desire to fly. And in the end, is the “adult” ready to believe the child (or adult) who is still “flying in his sleep”, and will he accept the help of love, which is able to heal himself from wounds that do not heal for years. The poster for the performance was created by artist Nikita Titov. Photo: Anastasia Mantach By the way, the incredible Nikita Titov literally drew the plane – that is, created the poster for the play. On it – behind the airplane – a plume with hearts. And this absolutely conveys the main vibe and aftertaste of the play – it is about an elderly romantic who painfully lost himself and at the same time was able to pick up the “new self” on the fly already in a different, more powerful capacity. And of course, it is about unconditional childish love, which is barrier-free and pure enough to inspire not only fulfillment, but also difficult and painful self-forgiveness. An exhibition of Nikita Titov’s works is underway in the lobby of the theater – the drawings are dedicated to non-professional soldiers who went to defend Ukraine with the beginning of a full-scale war.

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