Pussycat in Memory of Darkness

By Neda Nezhdana Translated by John Farndon

Published in volume Voices from Ukraine: Two Plays

A powerful play about the shattering impact of war, and the astonishing resilience of those living through it, written by one of Ukraine's leading playwrights.

Donbas, 2014. A nameless woman stands in the street, trying to sell a basket of kittens. She has lost everything else she holds dear. Her only remaining hope is to find a home for the kittens, since she cannot offer them one herself.

Pussycat in Memory of Darkness by Neda Nezhdana is an unflinching examination of Russia's war on Ukraine through the brutalised eyes of one woman.

It was performed in this English translation by John Farndon at the Finborough Theatre, London, in August 2022, directed by Polly Creed, as part of a festival of Ukrainian plays.

Pussycat in Memory of Darkness is published in the volume Voices from Ukraine: Two Plays.

Blog Post: 'Horses are burned in their stables and cows are blasted by "hail". The Russians even attack plants...'. Read Neda Nezhdana on Pussycat in Memory of Darkness, over on our blog>>

'I want to report a robbery... I was robbed. What was stolen from me? Almost everything... Home, land, car, work, friends, city, faith in goodness...'

Press Quotes

'A potted recent history of Ukraine through the life of one nameless woman... extraordinary... a complex knot of emotion, moving from love and patriotism to pain and cynicism and, finally, overwhelmingly, to hate for her oppressors'

The Stage

'An hour-long howl against the betrayals of Ukraine by Russia and Nato'

Guardian

'A cri-de-coeur tracking one woman's history from independence, through the 2014 Maidan Revolution and on to the present day, illustrating, in horrible detail, how Russian troops and their local allied militias, have used arms and information to destroy a state'

Broadway World

'Inflamed, impassioned, articulate'

British Theatre Guide

'Timely, enterprising, emotionally shattering, politically shaming... a shattering hour-long monologue of one woman's experience, despair and hope'

TheatreCat

'Beautifully crafted... demands to be seen... uncompromising and inspiring'

LondonTheatre1

Cast: 1f

Staging:Minimal requirements

Amateur rights performance fee: £60 per performance (plus VAT where applicable)

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Series: NHB Modern Plays