Lesia Ukrainka's Play "Boyarynia"
Zahrava's Best Yet!

Theatre company from Toronto treats Ottawa
to an unforgettable evening

By Oleh Kandyba
 

Boyarynia is about the tragic assimilation of Ukrainians living in Russia during the 17th century. Stepan (Josyp Terleckyj), a boyar (i.e. courtier) living in Moscow visits Perebijnykh, a retired distinguished cossack officer (Ilarij Kushnirenko) and his wife (Olya Pan'kiw) in Ukraine. He meets and is smitten by Oksana (Larissa Bayus), his host's beautiful and vivacious daughter. They fall deeply in love. During their courtship Stepan warns her that living in Moscow may be very difficult for her, but full of optimism about their future together, she discounts his warning and says that they will create a Ukrainian household. In due course they marry.

The reality of life among the Russians hits Oksana very quickly and very hard. Their customs are vastly different from those in Ukraine, numerous social restrictions apply to women, but worst of all Oksana is struck by the harsh discrimination exhibited by Russians towards any manifestations of Ukrainian identity.

Stepan, is a kind and loving husband, but is very indecisive, and has only a very weak sense of his Ukrainian roots. He is ready to make every compromise to advance his career in the Czar's court - at the expense of his family life and against the best interests of his motherland, Ukraine. Oksana's mother-in-law (Nadia Kutsa-Koval'chuk) and sister-in-law Hanna (Ivanka Lan') receive Oksana gladly and lovingly, but they are "lost souls" who have been almost totally assimilated, and are in fact a source of strong pressure on Oksana to do likewise.

However, Oksana is a strong, highly intelligent, articulate woman, full of life, and a patriot. She revels in her ukrainian-ness, and draws great joy and spiritual strength from it. Out of love for her husband, Oksana tries to conform, but cannot yield either to domestic pressures or to societal norms, which she finds personally abhorrent as well as offensive towards her Ukrainian identity. Tragically, this is a battle that can have only one outcome.

This leads to a heart-wrenching confrontation with Stepan. She pleads with him to return to Ukraine - to their own kind, but he won't hear of it. Stepan reminds Oksana that he warned her about possible difficulties of life in Moscow before they were married, and that she accepted this. Oksana realises that she had made a crucial decision - and it had gone horribly against her. Stepan then offers to release Oksana from their marriage vows and to return her to her father. Oksana vehemently refuses, saying that she will honour her vows, and will never speak of this again. This seals her fate.

Oksana's health deteriorates suddenly as she is struck down by tuberculosis - just as Lesia Ukrainka herself had been. Stepan grasps that he may soon lose Oksana, and promises to ask the Czar for permission to take Oksana home to Ukraine, to her family in a desperate bid to save her life. He is optimistic that the Czar will agree because the situation is "stable and calm" in Ukraine. Oksana then realises her worst fears. Hetman Doroshenko's cossack uprising has been suppressed by the Russians, and Ukraine is finally subjugated. She refuses to return to Ukraine, saying that she and Stepan have shamed themselves by not doing all they could for Ukraine in the Czar's court. Knowing that she is dying, Oksana tells Stepan to remarry - but this time with a Russian woman so that there will be no conflict between them.

The play does not show Oksana's tragic end, but in a dramatic pinnacle we know that to her final breath she will remain true to her beloved Ukraine.

* * *

Amateur theatre groups are better known for their enthusiasm rather than for their acting skills. In contrast, Zahrava's performance was remarkable for its professionalism. Several in the Boyarynia cast had completed formal schooling in Ukraine in the theatre arts, and were quite accomplished before immigrating to Canada. This strong base of experience flowed to the other cast members as well. Their diction was excellent, the acting was for the most part very natural and sincere. Clearly, Larissa Bayus and Josyp Terleckyj were the heart of the play. However, equally notable in their acting skills were the supporting actors mentioned above, as well as Bohdan Hohus', Taras Terleckyj, and Stepan Genyk-Berezowsky. Under the direction of Josyp Terleckyj and Oleh Valeniuk, the result was pure magic on stage - the likes of which we have seldom seen in the Ottawa Ukrainian community.

We would be delighted and honoured if Zahrava would return to Ottawa with their next production. To all those, who "could not make it" to Boyarynia, we're certain that it will also be an evening to remember!