Ukraine war highlighted at Shakespeare festival

A play by a Ukrainian writer exploring the psychological impact of war is to be given its world premiere at the York International Shakespeare Festival, as it celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Organisers said Codename Othello, by Olga Annenko, was one of the most "highly anticipated" events of this year's festival.

Annenko said the work, inspired by Shakespeare's Othello, used themes of identity, and trauma, to talk about "war and some of its hidden manifestations".

A festival spokesperson said the play was discovered in its earliest stages by the festival's international adviser Prof Nicoleta Cinpoeş who encouraged Annenko to finish the script.

Annenko said the project was "an opportunity to talk about psychological disorders caused by warfare".

"The complexity of the ordinary world, with its tricks, makes the life of a person who has returned from war impossible and unhappy," she said.

Officials said the festival would also see the world premiere of a performance entitled There's No Clock in the Forest, by displaced people currently living in York.

They said the performance would blend the Ukrainian play Mavka (The Forest Song), with texts from Shakespeare, which celebrated the natural world "and reflected on exile, mythology, and environmental change".

Festival director Philip Parr said: "These are certainly strange times. War, corruption, moral dilemma.

"The responsibility of theatre makers in our times is no different from that of Shakespeare: to tell the stories of the time and place, and to reflect the world around us."

He added: "Shakespeare belongs to the world, and this year, that global conversation feels more vital than ever."

The festival runs from 22 April to 4 May.

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