Staged reading of a new Ukrainian play about a nonbinary soldier, Antonina, for whom the front line is a place of stark truths and haunting echoes. "There is nothing romantic about war." Antonina confronts "T" – the person they were before the invasion. This intimate portrait of survival written by Tetiana Kytsenko explores the real life of her friend, a nonbinary soldier named Antonina Romanovama.
Written by: Tetiana Kytsenko. Translated by: John Freedman with Nataliia Bratus. Directed by: Lisa Rothe. Performed in English.
The program also features A Text for Theater, a short, autobiographical monologue written by Antonina Crimea in a single sitting from a combat position in the trenches. It is a raw exploration of presence – a moment where the ‘here and now’ of the front line and the ‘one time there’ of the stage converge.
Translated by: John Freedman. Directed by: Wayne Maugans. Featuring: Kathleen Salazar. Performed in English.
Free and open to the public. Suggested donation $15/ticket. Seats are limited, on first-come first-served basis.
This reading is produced in association with the Voyage Theater Company, this reading is a project of LINKAGES: Ukraine and the Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings, both supervised by the Center for International Theatre Development (CITD).
ABOUT
The 2026 Spring Staged Readings is part of the Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival – a showcase of contemporary European theater organized each year in New York City. Conceived in 2017 as a shared endeavor of the Vaclav Havel Center and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association, the festival honors the legacy of Czech playwright, dissident and political thinker Vaclav Havel.
The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.