Xameleon performing
(Picture: Photo credit Oleg Katchinsky)A Russian-speaking London theatre company is using their work to speak out against the invasion of Ukraine.
Xameleon theatre group works with theatre-makers from countries including Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. It regularly showcases classic Russian works with English subtitles.
Artistic director Vlada Lemeshevska told The Londoner: “We will try to do what we can through art.” The group are strongly against the invasion, which many in the company have been affected by. “We are not sure when we will be able to see our friends and families again,” she said.
Xameleon are planning a performance of Antigone to comment on Putin’s leadership. The Greek tragedy has a despotic king, who forbids mourning in his kingdom. The show had first been planned as a satire of Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko. “It is so relevant that I can’t believe it,” Lemeshevska said. Xameleon plan to perform the play in June in Marylebone, but would like to do it sooner. They had hoped to tour Russia with the show.
Lemeshevska said she expected “there will be difficulties” performing in Russian. “We are prepared that British audiences might have some anti-Russian sentiment,” she said.
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As his Government acts slowly to help Ukrainian refugees, The Londoner is reminded that Boris Johnson claims to be descended from refugees from Russian wars. The PM has said his great-great-grandmother was a Circassian slave. The Circassians came from south-western Russia, and most fled to Turkey after war in the 1800s.
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Last week it was announced that No 10 adviser Ed Oldfield, Allegra Stratton’s questioner in the notorious video making light of Downing Street parties, was leaving for the private sector. However, a source tells us Oldfield seems to have been on leave for some time. It’s a good time to bury awkward news.
