The Play "Flight of Birds"

"Flight of the Birds"

Attar — Hryhorii Skovoroda. A performance in one act

"Flight of the Birds" is a dramatic ballet by the "Slovo i Holos" (Word and Voice) Theater Center, in which movement, the poetry of Hryhorii Skovoroda, and songs in Ukrainian, Armenian, Latin, and Greek give rise to a journey into the self. Here, birds appear as images of eternal wanderers between the earthly and heavenly worlds.

The performance is based on a parable from a poem by the Sufi poet Attar. Birds set out in search of the King—Wisdom—traversing seven fields, only to finally find him in their own reflection in clear water. This journey is extended through the texts of Hryhorii Skovoroda, which explore the search for the self, one's "innate calling" (*srodnist*), inner freedom, and the joy derived from one's vocation.

"Flight of the Birds" ...continues the journey with Skovoroda that Nataliia Polovynka conceived in 2021. Following *The Garden of Divine Songs: Skovoroda* and *The Conversation of Birds*, this production marks the next step—a spirited performance about the will to triumph from within and the quest for inner wholeness.

"Do you want to break free from the daily hustle and leave earthly troubles behind as you take flight in pursuit of your own happiness, intellect, and wisdom? "Together with the Birds of the Sufi poet Attar and the Ukrainian eternal wanderer Hryhoriy Skovoroda, we will cross seven thresholds and fly to that lake of fullness that lies 'within oneself'!"

Nataliya Polovynka, concept creator and director

Cast:
Nataliya Polovynka
Mariya Kmit
Yuliya Tarasovych
Khrystyna Silivon
Anastasiya Redchuk
Yaroslava Tsetnar

Music:
Folk ensemble "Musique Café" under the direction of Bohdan Dvornyk — cimbalom, tambourine, frilka, violin
Serhiy Kudrynetskyi — organ

 

Creative team:
Concept and direction — Nataliya Polovynka
Artists — Natella Shavadze, Khrystyna Silivon
Costume design and creation — Oksana Karavanska
Lighting designer — Bohdan Dvornyk
Movement graphics — Mariia Bakalo
Director and Artistic Director of the "Slovo i Holos" Theatre Center — Nataliia Polovynka