Curtains up: How Ukrainians Turned to Theater during the War

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought uncertainty to the lives of most Ukrainian citizens. Despite the traumatic experiences caused by the war, Ukrainian theaters got a new life, benefiting from the unprecedented popularity, according to representatives of the theatrical community. One notable example is the theatrical adaptation of The Witch from Konotop, a satirical fiction story written by Ukrainian author Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko in 1833, which has rapidly gained popularity among the audience in Kyiv. The play premiered on 28 April 2023, coinciding with another air attack by Russia on the country. Since then, tickets for this play have become highly coveted. What arouses interest is that this illustrates only one case of the surge in theater attendance happening during the Russian-Ukrainian war.

This paper explores the rising popularity of Ukrainian theaters and provides supportive evidence using Google Trends data on search interest. After that, we analyze publications by theater-goers on social media (Instagram) and discuss how the unexpected theater boom can be attributed to various factors, including coping escapism mechanisms, the practice of consumer citizenship, and the reactualization of authentic Ukrainian narratives by both consumers and producers of cultural products.