We’ve just finished the holidays, and like many adult children, playwright Sasha Denisova chose to spend them with her mother – her mother who lives in Kyiv, who calmly deciphers missile direction and then returns to sleep, and who prides herself on preparing scrumptious stuffed peppers amidst a war.
“But, after a few days, she begins to feel as if her mom is not enjoying her presence,” said Yury Urnov, the Moscow-born co-artistic director at Wilma Theater who is both serving as Denisova’s translator in a recent interview and directing her sort-of autobiographical play, “My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion” at the Wilma (Jan. 30-Feb. 18).
Why was the visit wearing thin?
Because Denisova’s 82-year-old mother, Olga Ivanovna, has her own twist on the maxim: “You do you.”
“`Your job is cultural diplomacy, and my job is the war,’” Denisova said, quoting her mother through Urnov’s interpretation.
Both jobs form the basis of “My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion,” an absurdist play about resilience, the ability to adjust to and normalize everyday horrors, and the sometimes frustrating love between mother and daughter — all delivered with more than a few rueful laughs.
(Yes, pickle jars can strike down Russian drones! Yes, President Biden can sample her stuffed peppers, but bring more fighter jets. Of course, she advises Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. And you’ll have to buy a ticket to see about Russian President Vladmir Putin.)
Denisova’s responsibilities, according to her mother, include “being out in the world writing — away from Ukraine, but writing about it, with the important mission of keeping the world’s attention on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and to do it safely away from Kyiv,” Denisova said.
Despite the war, Denisova visits to help her mother with medicine and doctor visits. But sometimes she gets the sense she is hampering her mother’s work, perhaps making her feel uncomfortably old and helpless.
It’s a feeling Olga Ivanovna can’t afford, not when her entire energy is focused on monitoring the war and sending WhatsApp dispatches to her daughter reporting on bombs and what she’s making for dinner.
“Her cooking becomes an act of resistance,” said Denisova.
“Her mother’s life tells the history of Ukraine,” Urnov said, continuing to speak for Denisova. Ivanovna was born in a Kyiv bomb shelter during World War II – and when Denisova begs her to go to a bomb shelter during Russian attacks, Ivanovna refuses. Been there, done that.
“This war is a culmination of her life,” Urnov said. “Even her language has shifted. She has started using `we,’ which includes herself and all of Ukraine. There’s no ironic distance. `We hit all of our targets. We were attacked by ballistic missiles. Putin is aiming precisely at us.’”
Her mother’s WhatsApp dispatches inspired Denisova’s play, which she wrote in February 2022, months after the invasion began. During the recent holiday, Denisova observed first-hand how her mother was managing the war.
Rockets screaming nearby shattered Denisova’s sleep in the middle of the night. Her mother, and her husband, Igor, who is 20 years younger, were already awake, smoking, and tracking the attack on two iPads, two smartphones, and a giant plasma television screen.
“‘Those are our Patriots shooting,’” Denisova said, quoting her mother, who was describing the U.S.-made anti-aircraft missile systems Ukraine relies on for defense. “`OK Igor, we hit all of our targets. Now we can go back to bed.’”
Through Urnov, Denisova described her goals for the play. “One is to make sure that Ukraine is not just a line on the news. Art can help connect us. In Ukraine, people who are the same as you are living – with the same kind of feelings and my Mom is protecting her land. The audience has to understand the price of war.
“It is a signal to the Ukrainian community that they are not alone. I’ve been hearing about the loss of interest and the shift of focus. One of our goals is to receive American support. We need to show America what is going on.”
Denisova grew up in Kyiv but moved to Moscow to work in theater. When the war started, she fled to Poland and now lives there as a refugee. Urnov and his wife came from Russia to the United States in 2009 and stayed as Putin’s power solidified.
“I didn’t want to be there,” said Urnov, who strongly opposes the Russian invasion and distinguishes “between the actions of the regime and the actions of the people.”
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co. in Washington, which staged award-winning productions of “Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion” in September, is co-producing Denisova’s work with Wilma. Urnov, who is also a Woolly Mammoth company member, directs both productions. Denisova’s mother approved casting and costumes.
“This feels like one of the most important things I’ve done in my life,” Urnov said, “because since two years ago, the Russian invasion in Ukraine is right in the center of my attention, my thinking, my feeling.”
Wilma has arranged ways audience members can support Ukraine.
- The theater will provide donor information for relief organizations in the playbill and will draft a template letter that audience members can use to petition the U.S. House and Senate to support continued funding for Ukraine.
- Inquirer columnist Trudy Rubin and a panel of experts will discuss the war at an audience talkback following the Feb. 4 matinee.
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“Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion,” Jan. 30-Feb. 18, Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St., Phila. 215-546-7824.
