Green Corridors focuses on the stories of four Ukrainian women and other citizens trying to escape the brutality of Russian attacks on Ukraine in the war that Russia started in 2022. This new play by Ukrainian playwright Natalka Vorozhbyt is on stage at Trap Door Theatre, continuing its mission of producing “challenging and obscure works,” often by Eastern European playwrights. Kay Martinovich directs the play, which was translated by John Freedman with Natalia Bratus.
If you’re not familiar with Ukrainian history and artists, take a few moments before the play begins to read the dramaturgical notes in your program. Also note the maps of Ukraine, Central and Eastern Europe projected on the screen before the play. The action moves briskly in Green Corridors and is sometimes hard to follow.
Much of the story takes place in 2022 and we meet the people of our story as they wait at a customs checkpoint to enter Europe. The Cat Lover (Marzena Bukowska) brings two of her five cats, drugged asleep in their basket. The other three were left at home and she hopes to rescue them later. The Actress (Nicole Garneau) looks forward to reuniting with her filmmaking friends in Europe. (She lets us know she has an offer to make a film with Robert DeNiro.) The Manicurist (Emma Mansfield) is bruised and eager to leave her wartorn country where she has been raped and tortured, but she still is ready to paint nails a bright, blood red. The Housewife (Manuela Rentea) has her three small children with her (represented by their stuffed animals) and mourns the loss of her husband, who died in battle.
A Canadian Citizen and native Ukrainian (James Wheeler) is leaving with two cages of Spitz puppies to be sold at a great profit in Canada. An Austrian citizen (Dan Cobbler) tries to help the Manicurist but he fails; that’s when she is raped and tortured repeatedly by Russian soldiers, who tell her she’ll never give birth to a Ukrainian. Jen Connor plays the European Woman and several other roles with spirit and quick hairstyle changes. Gus Thomas is the Customs Officer and also plays the Film Director.
The actors all play multiple roles as the scenes change; dates are projected on screen. Several scenes take place at film shoots, one in 1942 where a film about a Ukrainian poet is being made. One scene takes place in an Intimacy Room, where a virtual sex act is performed. There’s a line for everything, identified on screen. In Line for Death. In Line for Intimacy. In Line for News. In Line for Kindness.
Green Corridors is a mixture of black humor and absurdity. The scenic design is represented by a series of door frames on wheels, symbolic of the desire to leave home and arrive somewhere peaceful. (Set design is by Merje Veski, with lighting by Richard Norwood.)
Playwright Vorozhbyt tells an important story of war, of acts of displacement, rape and torture—and sometimes, hope. Her poetic but episodic script has no clear plot line but Martinovich’s crisp direction keeps it satisfyingly on point.
The powerful performances by Bukowska, Garneau, Rentea and Mansfield help tell Vorozhbyt’s story. They are supported by the music and sound design created by Dan Poppen, costumes by Rachel Sypniewski, and makeup by Zsófia Ötvös.
Natalka Vorozhbyt’s work as playwright and screenwriter has explored the human cost of war, displacement and identity in Ukraine’s modern history. Her plays include The Grain Store (2009), a portrayal of the Holodomor famine, and Bad Roads (2017), which depicts life during war in Donbas; she later adapted this for a film, which was Ukraine’s official Oscar submission.
Green Corridors continues at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland, through February 21, with performances Thursday-Saturday at 8pm. Running time is 90 minutes. Tickets and more information available here.
For more information on this and other productions, see theatreinchicago.com.
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