Overview

Often regarded as a playwright ""beyond nationality,"" Shakespeare has played a central role in Ukraine's cultural history over the past two centuries. His works have served as both a lens for exploring Ukraine's historical and cultural identity and as a shared medium through which Ukrainian poets, dramatists, and theatre artists have communicated with the world. Shakespeare in Ukraine: Mirror, Prism, Megaphone, by award-winning Shakespearean and theatre historian Irena R. Makaryk, analyzes key moments of Ukraine's engagement with Shakespeare. The text traces the evolution of Shakespeare in Ukraine, from his early influence on figures like Taras Shevchenko and Lesya Ukrainka to the groundbreaking theatrical work of Les Kurbas, the first to stage Shakespeare in 1920, a bold assertion of cultural identity and independence. The volume also explores the defiant production of Hamlet under Nazi occupation in 1943, adaptations of Shakespeare's works under Soviet rule, Shakespeare commemorations in the Cold War era, and the efflorescence of Shakespeare productions in the post-independence period. Rich with astute scholarly observations and fascinating historical details, Shakespeare in Ukraine investigates the multifaceted roles of Shakespeare during periods of great cultural and political upheaval. From the early Soviet period to the ongoing war with Russia, Makaryk offers insights into the enduring power of Shakespeare and the way he amplifies Ukraine's creative and cultural imagination.

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9781487565978

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Reviews

“Irena R. Makaryk’s Shakespeare in Ukraine is the culmination of four decades of outstanding research on Shakespeare’s role and influence in Ukrainian culture and gathers all the author’s published writings on the topic in a single volume with bibliographical updates, revisions, and a new author’s introduction for this new edition. It follows a chronological structure from the nineteenth century, when the Ukrainian language was repressed by tsarist Russia, to the present day, when Russia once again denies the existence of the Ukrainian language and people. Professor Makaryk’s volume is impeccably researched and written. It is and will be the go-to scholarship for anyone interested in the subject. It is a marvelous contribution to the field of Shakespeare and Ukrainian studies.” -- Michael M. Naydan, Woskob Family Professor of Ukrainian Studies, Pennsylvania State University “Since Putin’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, nearly a quarter of all theatre productions in Ukraine have been versions of plays by Shakespeare, many of extraordinary resonance, ingenuity, and imaginative power; and it seems only natural not only that President Zelensky should quote regularly from Hamlet but that he should have received a copy of Henry V as a gift from a British prime minister. Irena R. Makaryk’s wonderfully learned book helps us to understand how performing Shakespeare’s multivocal plays in Ukrainian has long been key to the assertion of Ukrainian identity, and it vividly sets the current achievements of Ukrainian Shakespeare under fire into the rich history of Ukrainian theatre and its struggle for independence.” -- Michael Dobson, Director of the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham

Author Information

Irena R. Makaryk is an award-winning author and a Distinguished University Professor, Department of English, University of Ottawa.

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