University of Worcester Expert Sheds Light on Ukrainian Play’s Journey to the Stage

A University of Worcester expert who uncovered a Ukrainian reimagining of Shakespeare’s Othello will share the play’s remarkable journey to the stage in a special event at The Hive.

Professor of Shakespeare Studies, Nicoleta Cinpoeş, helped bring the adaptation to completion and to the stage after finding a fragment of the play, which explores the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, especially its impact on the home front.

She will be talking about the play's eventful journey in conversation with Philip Parr, director of the York International Shakespeare Festival, at The Hive on March 5 (6.30pm).

Titled Codename Othello, Ukrainian playwright Olga Annenko’s play is inspired by Shakespeare's Othello, but set in Ukraine during the current war, featuring characters on the frontline and home front.

Professor Cinpoeş and Mr Parr will be discussing the process of bringing such a piece to life and their efforts to get a full staging of the play performed this spring, including a first-ever staging in Ukrainian. The free event will also discuss the ways in which other countries have developed their own conversations with and responses to Shakespeare’s plays, which has a long and rich history.

Originally a six-page pitch for a competition, Codename Othello came to Professor Cinpoeş’s attention when she discovered the fragment and contacted the playwright.

She supported its development into a full play, which received a staged reading at the York International Shakespeare Festival last year. She also commissioned the English translation and worked as a literary adviser on the English stage production, as part of her ongoing work with the Festival’s international Shakespeare programme.

Now work is underway to produce a full staging of the play - with costumes, lighting and sets - in both English and Ukrainian. Thanks to British Council funding: Connections Through Culture Grants, the York International Shakespeare Festival is to create a production in English and the Ukrainian Ivano Frankivsk International Shakespeare Festival one in Ukrainian.

The play will have its world premiere in both languages back-to-back at the York International Shakespeare Festival in May, with Professor Cinpoeş, as International Advisor for the Festival, having a key role in bringing this about.

“Shakespeare can be a vital tool in wartime,” said Professor Cinpoeş. “It’s a means of resistance, resilience, and it’s a lifeline for people living through oppression or conflict. It has always served that purpose. It’s also an instrument to enter a dialogue, because Shakespeare becomes the language that we share.”

Professor Cinpoeş has visited Ukraine three times since the war started to help preserve its theatrical heritage and co-launched the Ukrainian Ivano Frankivsk International Shakespeare Festival in June 2024.

The event is free, but places should be booked via the Worcestershire County Council what’s on webpage: https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/events/codename-othello-international-conversations-shakespeare