On 8–13 July, the theatre venue PUSH PUSH Arts in College Park, Georgia, is hosting the premiere of the play Blue Potatoes, Yellow Guns by Ukrainian playwright Hanna Bulatova, reports Ukrainian Drama Translation.
The event is part of a project initiated by PUSH PUSH Arts co-founder and creative director Tim Habeger to present contemporary Ukrainian stories to American audiences.
Blue Potatoes, Yellow Guns is Bulatova’s new play, which tells the story of a Ukrainian family’s life from the Soviet era to the full-scale invasion. The plot is based on the playwright’s lived experience, as well as stories from her family and neighbors. Bulatova herself was in the United Kingdom at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, having signed a contract shortly beforehand to work as an assistant director.
At the centre of the play is Nadya, a Ukrainian refugee. The action begins with her date with a man in America, during which she thinks about Ukrainian cities coming under Russian attack. At the same time, the restaurant’s waitress reminds the heroine of her daughter, Lyuba. This triggers a series of memories: of her great-grandfather and great-grandmother who survived the Holodomor; her grandmother, who was forced to work on a collective farm; a neighbour who ran toward Russian tanks, and whose video went viral. The play also recalls the explosion at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, the collapse of the USSR, and the opening of Ukraine’s first McDonald’s in 1997.
In addition, the program includes a screening of the 20-minute play A Text for Theatre by Ukrainian non-binary director and service member Antonina Krym (Antonina Romanova). The production is set in a trench, and the story is narrated by Krym themself.
The initiative was created in collaboration with the PushPush Arts Portal International Exchange Program, the Centre for International Theatre Development, and the Worldwide Ukrainian Play Reading Series.
PushPush Arts is a nonprofit organisation for artists focused on developing and presenting original interdisciplinary works of art. It is based in the state of Georgia.