Lyuba Yakimchuk

April 2022. A woman returns to her home in Bucha, already liberated from Russian occupation, and finds her husband murdered on the couch and then bitten by a cat. The cat slips into the basement and the woman goes down there to catch him. But in the basement she finds a stranger instead of a cat.

The man claims he was tortured by Russian soldiers and left in the basement. The woman discovers that another basement’s door is mined and tries to call the sappers. However, the man doesn't allow her to do so, as he is a Russian soldier left behind by his comrades and is hiding from the Ukrainian military. To make matters worse, he is wearing her deceased husband's sneakers. What is an occupier capable of when backed into a corner? What is a woman capable of when she's face-to-face with her husband's killer?

The basement is like a box with an explosive device and a cat from Schrödinger's thought experiment. But there are also a Ukrainian woman and a Russian soldier. According to the experiment, the probability of survival for those in the basement is 50:50, dependent on the observer. Will the man or the woman survive? It depends on us, the audience of the performance.

Production is expected at the Volkstheater, Vienna, in spring 2023.

"Zoology of War" is a project that explores the impact of the war in Ukraine on both humans and animals. The project consists of a cycle of five short plays, one of which has already been written, while two more will be developed as part of this grant's implementation. The plays will be based on actual events and center around a particular animal and one or two individuals, examining their relationships in the context of war conditions. The project explores how the Russian war in Ukraine affects not only humans but also non-human beings, exploring creatures’ unusual behaviors and adaptations. In times of war, humanity and culture may disappear, leaving behind only the stark realities of survival. It is this very issue that the "Zoology of War" project seeks to explore. By incorporating scientific data regarding how animals perceive the world, the project will add a unique perspective to portraying the consequences of war.