"In the Bowels of the Earth" Worldwide Ukrainian Play Reading

"In the Bowels of the Earth" Worldwide Ukrainian Play Reading Thursday March 31, 8-9pm Conversation Cafe 6 Paris Street Free Donation to Devon for Ukraine In collaboration with Arts & Culture University of Exeter, Maketank presents an evening of solidarity with Ukraine that includes a reading of the short play "In The Bowels of the Earth" held at Conversation Café located at 6 Paris Street (across from Maketank). Conversation Café was created to support displaced Ukrainian people coming to Devon and their host families. Partner organisations: Devon for Ukraine, Exeter Communities Alliance, Exeter City Council. The Crown Estate and Nuveen, joint owners of Princesshay, have supported the project by providing the space. "In The Bowels of the Earth" is written by Olena Hapeeva, translated by John Freedman and Natalia Bratus. Performed and staged by volunteer actors, directors and artists. "In The Bowels of the Earth" explores the experience of finding oneself in a bomb shelter sharing a tight space with strangers, pondering the fact that "the earth takes us in" and hoping for its protection. It is filled with the cacophony of voices, streams of thoughts, brief moments of interactions, interrupted by children questioning the brutality of war. The play is presented as part of the Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings, an international initiative to bear witness to the horrors of Putin’s war on Ukraine through theater. Originating with the Insulted.Belarus Worldwide Readings Project, begun in 2020 in solidarity with the beleaguered Belarus theater community, the Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings project continues the initiative to present works which bring to light the corruption and brutality of authoritarian regimes. The project has arranged for over 70 pledged readings and fundraisers in 15 countries and in 12 languages. Events already have taken place in Hong Kong, the Czech and Slovak Republics, Germany, Austria and UK. The event marks the first presentation of Ukrainian plays by Maketank. This evening is made possible with support from Arts and Culture University of Exeter, and volunteer support by Devon-based artists, directors and actors. Image made possible by Robert Olinger, based on a mural titled “Revival” by the French-Ukrainian duo Seth x Kislow. Painted in 2014. Hapeeva's play was commissioned by grant from the Center for International Theater Development (USA).