Take the Rubbish Out, Sasha
Take the Rubbish Out, Sasha
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.
Sasha, a Colonel in the Ukrainian Army, has died suddenly of a heart attack, leaving his relatives Katia and Oksana to mourn for him. But a year later, as war intensifies, the army has resorted to recruiting the dead. Sasha is anxious to be resurrected so he can rejoin the fight, but can his family bear to lose him all over again?
Take the Rubbish Out, Sasha by Natal'ya Vorozhbit blends reality and the supernatural in a startling exploration of the effects of war and conflict.
It was first performed in this English translation by Sasha Dugdale in March 2015 at Òran Mór, Glasgow, in association with the National Theatre of Scotland and the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh.
It was also performed at the Finborough Theatre, London, in August 2022, directed by Svetlana Dimcovic, as part of a festival of Ukrainian plays.
Take the Rubbish Out, Sasha is published in the volume Voices from Ukraine: Two Plays.
Blog Post: 'I wrote about my fears and premonitions and hoped that they would never come true'. Read Natal'ya Vorozhbit and Sasha Dugdale on Take the Rubbish Out, Sasha, over on our blog>>
'They've mobilised all the living now, the fifth call took the last of the living. But the war keeps on. So high command asked us.'
'Extraordinary... blends initially recognisable feelings of gut-wrenching grief, with the surreal sensation of what it must feel like to be at war. This is in part achieved through a beguiling magical-realist quality to Natal'ya Vorozhbit's writing. More than anything, though, this is a story of family and community, brought together by unbearable events'
The Stage'Almost unbearably emotive... Vorozhbit's mix of naturalism and the supernatural, comedy and tragedy, works well'
Guardian
