National Theatre of Scotland – BELONG SEASON 2015

A Play, A Pie and A Pint, in association with National Theatre of Scotland

and the University of Edinburgh, presents

A Play, A Pie and A Pint: International Plays from Ukraine and Russia

Three new plays from Ukraine and Russia

Curated by Nicola McCartney

Take the Rubbish Out, Sasha by Natalia Vorozhbyt (Ukraine)
Translated by Sasha Dugdale
Directed by Nicola McCartney
Òran Mór, Glasgow, week commencing 23 March 2015
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, week commencing 31 March 2015
Presented in collaboration with the Traverse Theatre

In a modest home on the outskirts of Kiev, Katya and Oksana are busy preparing a funeral meal for their beloved Sasha. A husband, a stepfather, an Army colonel, he was all these things until he dropped stone cold dead on the bathroom floor.

But Sasha isn’t going without a fight. His women need him. His country needs him. Now more than ever. He and the others must return; they must march again. They have a solemn oath to uphold. It’s time for the sixth wave of mobilisation. Line up!



The War Hasn’t Started Yet by Mikhail Durnenkov (Russia)
Literal translation by Alexandra Smith
Adapted and directed by Davey Anderson
Òran Mór, Glasgow, week commencing 4 May 2015

Russian troops enter Ukraine. But the war hasn’t started yet. Not officially. Meanwhile, protestors take to the streets, parents lose their children, strangers find lovers, journalists lie on television, cancer patients crack jokes about the absurdity of existence, the downtrodden dream of rising up against their oppressors and everyone everywhere is addicted to something.

‘You see all these people in the subway with icy cold eyes. Burning inside. It’s either gastritis, or their souls, or God knows what. They look like they could pounce at any moment, tear you apart and eat you alive.’

A darkly funny, kaleidoscopic look at contemporary Russia on the brink.


Thoughts Spoken Aloud From Above by Yuri Klavdiev (Russia)
Literal translation by Alexandra Smith
Adapted by Peter Arnott
Òran Mór, Glasgow, week commencing 25 May 2015

A surreal and fantastical journey through contemporary Russia as seen through the eyes of one of Russia’s most popular and controversial playwrights. Issues such as gay rights, corruption and love are seen through prisms as wide ranging as Penguins in the Antarctic to a girl on a forest floor. This piece of magic realism will transport the audience to an imaginative Russia never before seen on the Scottish stage.

“Nothing in the history of Russia or Ukraine is ever simple.”

Collaborating on their fifth international season, A Play, A Pie and A Pint, in association with the National
Theatre of Scotland and the University of Edinburgh, presents new work from three of Russia and Ukraine’s most established and respected writers of “Novii Drama” or “New Drama.”

The writers were asked to respond to the conflict that has escalated between the two countries over the last 18 months. The result is the three new plays forming this season; a timely blend of comedy, tragedy and farce.

Novii Drama is a relatively new form of theatre in Russia and Ukraine, where, traditionally, social realism and the plays of playwrights such as Chekhov have dominated the scene. These exciting new pieces will be adapted and directed by acclaimed Scottish theatre -makers, Peter Arnott and Davey Anderson.

Curator Nicola McCartney says:

“Four years ago, David MacLennan asked me to travel to Moscow to find out if anyone there might be interested in A Play, A Pie and A Pint; he was keen to commission a season of Russian work.

There was a lot of interest – and also some consternation at the idea of great art such as theatre being mixed with alcohol and pies. Shortly after that trip, the hostilities between the two countries commenced and we knew the time was ripe.

The three playwrights I have chosen for this season come from both nations involved in the conflict, are well-established and enormously respected, not just in Russia and Ukraine, but the world over. What is even more special is that they are best friends. We asked them to respond to what has been happening over the last 18 months. Nothing in the history of Russia or Ukraine is ever simple…”

Susannah Armitage, producer of A Play, A Pie and A Pint says
 "Both A Play, A Pie and A Pint and the National Theatre of Scotland are particularly excited to be presenting new work from both Russia and Ukraine in Spring 2015. It feels like a prescient time to be turning a cultural spotlight towards that part of the world and to dIscover artists’ responses to what has been happening in their countries. It is also the realisation of a long-term ambition of both David MacLennan and Nicola McCartney to see contemporary Russian and Ukranian work as part of the A Play, A Pie and A Pint programme” 

With thanks to the University of Oxford for translation support.