A dark musical comedy about witches has Ukraine enthralled. Here's why

KYIV, Ukraine — Witches are having a moment in Ukraine. Both feared and revered, these beings are thought to possess supernatural powers that can be used for good and bad. Over the centuries, witches have been blamed for all kinds of things happening to Ukrainians: droughts, floods, diseases — even falling in love and starting wars.

Now they have taken center stage in a dark musical comedy titled The Witch of Konotop, with performances selling out all summer at the historic Ivan Franko Theater in the capital Kyiv.

Folklore brought to life

Based on the 1833 satirical fiction by Ukrainian writer Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko, the story pokes fun at Ukrainian literature’s tendency to focus on sadness and tragedy. It takes place in the 1600s and follows the main character, Zabryokha, a Cossack military leader, in his unsuccessful journey to do away with witches whom he blames for his misfortunes.

Throughout the fast-paced, witty hour-and-a-half production, the audience is treated to beautifully detailed Ukrainian folk costumes and stunning vocals set to traditional Ukrainian music.

There is rejection, there is love.

And there is, of course, a witch hunt.

Additionally, in a twist that echoes today, the main characters receive orders to join a campaign to fend off an overreaching czarist Russia.

One play, many takeaways

Life under a sinister Russian threat might be the most obvious theme from this play. Yet, a quick survey of the cast and audience at a recent performance reveals the production’s true flexibility.

“Don’t kill women, don’t mess with women,” says actress Kateryna Artemenko, who plays one of the townswomen mistaken for a witch. She spoke to NPR backstage before the show.

“No, it is not a joke, of course,” Artemenko says. “The main message is about people trying to fool their destiny, but destiny will find them.”

Actor Nazar Zadniprovskyi, who plays the ill-fated Cossack commander Zabryokha, views this play as a lesson in avoiding responsibility. The two lead characters avoid going to military drills so they don’t have to go to war, he says, and many people see a parallel with Ukrainian men dodging conscription today.

Zadniprovskyi also attributes the play’s popularity to the clips that have gone viral on social media. There, Ukrainians from all walks of life weigh in.

Audience member Markian Halabala of Kyiv says seeing buzz about the play online is what first piqued his interest. He says it was difficult to get tickets because the play sells out so quickly. When he finally saw it, he felt the message was that you shouldn’t interfere in God’s will — like Zabryokha does in the play when he asks a witch to cast a spell on a woman to make her fall in love with him, even though she loves someone else. Halabala likens it to Russian President Vladimir Putin trying to interfere in Ukraine’s path forward as an independent nation.

However, theatergoer Olha Vasylevshka of Kharkiv says she thinks the play is about love.

“Of course if the love is true, it doesn’t need any outside assistance,” she says, laughing. “But if the love is not true, nothing can help it, not even a witch.”

Sold-out shows

Critics say audiences’ many interpretations of The Witch of Konotop are just one reason it’s been so popular.

Ivan Franko Theater press liaison Olena Kyrychenko-Povolocka told NPR the production has filled their nearly 800-seat house for every performance this summer and she expects to continue that success. The play has dates on its website through mid-September.

Another reason for the play’s popularity may be its ties to not only Ukrainian folklore, but also to Ukraine’s real-life town of Konotop known for witches.

Near the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, a video surfaced online of a woman shouting at a Russian soldier sitting atop a tank.

“Do you even know where you are?” the woman shouts in a raspy voice. “You’re in Konotop — every second woman here is a witch.”

She goes on to warn the soldier he will never get an erection again.

The video went viral in Ukraine, not just because of the woman’s defiance, but also because the video was from Konotop and Ukrainians immediately got the reference.

There’s been an overall push to celebrate Ukrainian culture and literature since Russia’s invasion. Putin has repeatedly said victory means nothing short of Ukraine not just losing its sovereignty — but also its identity.

Ukrainians’ renewed interest in their own culture has driven them back to theaters. Almost all functioning theaters in the country have returned to selling tickets to full houses, according to Olha Baibak with the National Union of Theater Workers of Ukraine.

“There is a growing interest in the theater throughout the country,” Baibak wrote in an email to NPR. “New audiences have come, people go for communication, for therapy, to live some kind of experience.”

She says they also come to get away from reality.

Performing also offers actors an escape.

Actor Mykhailo Kukuyuk, who plays the character Pistryak, the main character’s cunning assistant, says it’s sometimes difficult to block out the challenges and horrors of war happening outside the theater. But performing is an honor that reminds him what he believes Ukrainians are fighting for.

“For theater, for good-looking, beautiful women. It’s the details, the sparks that make us alive — it’s hard to put into one sentence,” he says.

Polina Lytvynova contributed to this report from Kyiv.