On January 21 and 22, the National Drama Theater named after Maria Zankovetska in Lviv successfully hosted the premiere of the play Something Strange Happened to Me, dedicated to the Day of Unity of Ukraine.
Without a doubt, it was a real success! The relevant topic of our time, the powerful emotional charge and the insightful plot made the audience hold their breath and rethink what is important. The production is the theatrical debut of Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, a film director and screenwriter, member of the European and Ukrainian Film Academies, Chairman of the Ukrainian Oscar Committee in 2024-2025, well known to the Ukrainian audience for his work on the film Pamphire, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022. In the current production, Dmytro also acts as a playwright.
About the play
The protagonist of the play is Svitlana, an architecture teacher who tutors at home. At the same time, she is restoring her house after the de-occupation. Svitlana’s environment includes her students, a neighbor who engages in strange psychological practices, and an investigator named Korniy. Svitlana allows her neighbor to conduct family Hellinger readings in her home. Unexpectedly, one of the readings triggers a series of events: the applicants stumble upon a dangerous discovery, and Kornii and Svitlana are transported back in time by more than 100 years. United by the experience of war, Svitlana and Kornei become family for one evening.
The project was supported by Ascania Group, a diversified Ukrainian holding that unites 12 companies along with the EVA and EVA.UA chain of stores. Among the activities of Ascania Group are the official distribution of Lavazza coffee in Ukraine and the production of Ascania Flora roses.
“Ukrainian theater is experiencing a period of prosperity today, it is one of the forces that help us to hold on, create and think about the future in the most difficult times. Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk’s play Something Strange Happened to Me is a vivid example of contemporary Ukrainian art that resonates with the present and speaks to the audience in the clear language of deep emotions and meanings,” commented Serhiy Zhyla, CEO of Ascania Group.
Project partners: KSE Foundation, Unbroken, Aspen, UCU Business School
Special thanks to: Maksym Dyadyk and Olena Vovk.
Incredible photos by the talented Anastasia Pirozhenko.