ABSTRACT
Ivan Vyrypaev and Natalia Vorozhbyt have also proven particularly relevant to a broader European audience as evidenced by their productions and commissions from stages across the continent. This chapter primarily focuses on the resonance of the two writers’ works within their local contexts in Russia and Ukraine, it is also important to note the extensive circulation of their plays across Europe and beyond. It treads a fine line as it aims to acknowledge points of shared cultural history between the first generation of post-Soviet playwrights while avoiding the common pitfall of eliding the history and significance of Ukrainian art and culture with Russia’s by comparing the works of these two writers. The chapter explores how the historically specific set of circumstances in Russia and Ukraine at the start of the twenty-first century positioned playwrights of this era uniquely to rewrite the cultural narratives of their epoch.
