My European Love
by Iryna Serebriakova
Swedish translation: Richard Asker
A drama based on life stories and actual events from the current war in Ukraine.
When Russian forces invade Ukraine, Marina flees the war to start a new life in Western Europe with her former lover Christian and his son. “The European dream” is something she shares with many of her compatriots, but reality seldom lives up to our dreams and she is torn between love, jealousy and a sudden longing for things she never really appreciated until they were lost.
She perceives the values and comfortable life of Western europeans in stark contrast to what is happening in her native country. Impressions of the new country clash with memories and fantasies of the old, and having been raised in a harsh political reality, she has a penchant for exposing the hypocrisy she sees in the politics of the West dealing with the Russian aggressor. This, in addition to a different kind of battle in her new home, the tense and jealous relationship with her adolescent stepson, provokes an internal conflict that she struggles to resolve.
A World at War
This autumn premieres My European Love – the third production in SpaceTimeLab’s project World at War. In three plays we have brought war to a country that people sometimes colloquially refer to as “spoilt by peace” (since Sweden has enjoyed peace for more than 200 years) to discuss and problematize the consequences of war, far away and yet so close. We have collaborated with expertise from the Red Cross and the Armed Forces. Above all, we have come close to those whose lives have been shaped by these consequences, listened to their stories and experiences. These, we want to share.
What are the human consequences of living in a state of war? Can the voices that express this be heard beyond the archetypes of victim, hero and perpetrator that immediately take center stage in the media narratives of war?
Today, the culture and arts of the Ukrainian people are under constant attack from a regime whose objective is annihilation – physical as well as psychological, with the constant bombardment of theatres, museums and the obliteration of schools and teaching materials as a concrete grinding strategy of destruction. But the state of war also creates a domestic repression and self censorship of unfitting artistic and human expressions that fall outside of what is deemed useful in the nation’s struggle for survival in this extreme situation. Thus, Ukrainian artists face a multidimensional struggle to make their voices heard. We wish to celebrate the living artistic expression that is the fragile human response to this monumental destruction in the shape it takes through the artist’s vulnerable strength. We bring forth one such voice by playing the work of Iryna Serebriakova. We do this in the hope that such voices will multiply into unyielding choirs, growing in strength until they have regained an undisputed right to exist in time and space.
Directed and translated by Richard Asker
Choreography: Anette Jellne
Ensemble: Anette Jellne, Oscar Rosberg, Richard Asker
Music and soundscapes: Richard Asker
Lighting design: Thomas Dotzler
Produced by SpaceTimeLab
Moomsteatern, Malmö
20-22 oktober
24-26 oktober
Ö2 Bergsgatan, Stockholm
6-7 november
9 november
12-14 november
16 november
Tickets Malmö:
https://kulturcentralen.nu/evenemang/min-europeiska-karlek
Tickets Stockholm:
https://www.nortic.se/ticket/event/47477
