Antonina (Ukraine)
Part 1: A Text for Theater
By Antonina Crimea | Translated by John Freedman
Directed by Wayne Maugans
Featuring Niccolò Walsh
The evening begins with a raw, autobiographical monologue written by Antonina Crimea in a single, breathless sitting from a combat position in the trenches. A visceral meditation on presence; the piece creates a rare space where the "here and now" of the front line and the "one time there" of the theater hall collide. (10 minutes)
Part 2: Antonina
By Tetiana Kytsenko | Translated by John Freedman with Nataliia Bratus
Directed by Lisa Rothe
Featuring: Ellen Nikbakht and Kathleen Salazar
In this urgent documentary drama, Antonina Crimea, a nonbinary soldier, faces the ultimate mirror: a dialogue with "T," the civilian they were before the invasion. Stripping away the romantic myths of combat, Antonina reveals the trenches as a brutal equalizer—a place where identity is stripped back and a kinship deeper than blood is forged. (40 minutes)
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).
A talkback with the directors follows.
Performed in English.
Part of Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival honoring Václav Havel, produced by the Vaclav Havel Center and the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association.
ABOUT THE 2026 REHEARSAL FOR TRUTH INTERNATIONAL THEATER FESTIVAL
Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival, honoring Václav Havel, is a showcase of contemporary European theater organized each year in New York City. Conceived in 2017 as a shared endeavor of the Václav Havel Center (VHC) and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA), the festival honors the legacy of Czech playwright, dissident and political thinker Vaclav Havel.
Each edition of Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival addresses current sociopolitical trends in Central and Eastern Europe, offering New York audiences a unique opportunity to witness the region’s theatrical zeitgeist.
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.