The Les Kurbas award was won by the director of the independent Kharkiv theater – News

The State Agency for the Arts has announced the laureate of the Les Kurbas Theater Award. He became the director and founder of the independent theater “Nafta” Artem Vusyk. For the first time since its inception, the prize is awarded to a representative of a non-governmental organization.

This was reported by the Ministry of Arts.

Vusyk received an award for staging a one-man show “Rainbow on Saltivka”which premiered in November 2023.

The Les Kurbas Theater Award is awarded to professional theater directors for a significant contribution to the development of modern Ukrainian theater art. Starting in 2021, applications for participation in the competition can be submitted not only by state theaters, but also by public organizations.

The action of the play unfolds already during the full-scale invasion of Russia on the territory of Ukraine. Artem Vusyk also played the role of the main character of the production, because, as noted in the theater, the play is an autobiographical story.

“Rainbow on Saltivka” is a musical surrealist tragicomedy about the life of an artist in Saltivka, one of Kharkiv’s districts that suffered significant damage during the war.

“This is our attempt to bring some rays of joy back to a place that is still healing from the wounds of war. At the same time, we are rethinking traditional ideas and stereotypes about Saltivka. We are trying to feel the poetry of the district, which is considered hooligan. And also to see the individual landscape of this place among endless residential areas”, they tell about the performance in Nafta.

Last year, none of the candidates was awarded the prize because the performances did not meet the criteria. These include: artistic search, innovative character, European context and stage experiment. However, there are no details on these criteria on the website.

The prize money for the winner is 20 thousand hryvnias. Earlier, Artem Vusyk commented for Public Kharkiv shared that in case of victory, all funds will be spent on the needs of the theater.

“We always have a need to cover some of our gaps either in terms of rent or equipment. There is a shortage of heaters and gasoline for the generator. This money will not go into my pocket. They will go to the theater and they will definitely not be superfluous there, because there is no extra money in an independent institution.”– added the director.

About the independent theater “Nafta”

“Nafta” theater appeared in Kharkiv in 2018. It is an independent platform for artists with no fixed troupe and no rigid rules.

“On stage, we strive to enter into a dialogue with the audience, raise relevant social issues and encourage people to ask questions, feel and reflect“, the founders write about the theater.

Theater performances are often based on classical works, but in different interpretations. For example, “Matchmaking in Goncharivka“Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko was turned into a musical performance”Suffering on Honcharivka” and “HamletShakespeare became a queer show with elements of stand-up. The team also creates new independent performances, such as “Rat”, “Temple” and “Rainbow on Saltivka”.