Contemporary Ukrainian Performing Art: Postcolonial Aspects

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyse postcolonial practices in various types of performing arts in modern Ukraine. The research methodology combines methods of analysis and synthesis, comparison, and theoretical generalisation. The scientific novelty lies in identifying the specifics of the implementation of the postcolonial strategy in modern Ukrainian performing arts. Conclusions. Postcolonial processes in modern Ukrainian performing arts are a natural reaction to a long period of cultural dependence on the Soviet-Russian imperial model. These processes gained particular intensity after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014 and became one of the leading vectors of development of the artistic environment after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Postcolonial trends encompass various types of performing arts – drama theatre, musical-dramatic theatre, opera, ballet. Postcolonial practices in Ukrainian performing arts are implemented at several levels: repertoire, institutional, linguistic, aesthetic, and bodily. They are manifested in the rejection of the Russian-language repertoire, the removal of works related to Russian imperial cultural narratives, the renaming of theatres, the rethinking of the national artistic heritage, the implementation of a new repertoire addressed to nationally marked works and the current issues of war, trauma, memory, loss, internal resistance and national self-identification. Postcolonial practices in the performing arts of modern Ukraine are not only a way of cultural distancing from Russian imperial influence, but also an important mechanism for the formation of national identity, the affirmation of the self-sufficiency of Ukrainian culture and integration into the European cultural space. Among the promising areas of further research are the comparison of postcolonial artistic practices in Ukraine and in other countries, the identification of the specifics of the manifestation of postcolonial and decolonial tendencies in the performing arts, the analysis of nationalistic politics as a manifestation of postcolonialism and decolonialism in contemporary performing arts, etc. Keywords: Ukrainian performing arts, contemporary art, postcolonial studies, theatre, Ukrainian culture.