1933. Four women, Halka, Anna, Iryna and Yasia, attempt to survive at the height of the Holodomor* in their village in Ukraine. The men have already been deported as class traitors for resisting collectivization, and the women maintain discipline as best they can, guarding the land, foraging for food, while attempting not to die or go mad. Into their midst comes Nadya, a fresh-faced member of the Young Communist League, tasked with seeing to it that the party line is toed even if it kills every last villager. When she walks into a pastoral apocalypse, she begins to question everything she believes about the world. Although about a dark history, the play exudes surreal humor and will feature live Ukrainian music. Sickle ultimately celebrates a will to survive history and transcend attempts at genocide.

Iryna | Adelin Phelps

Anna | Tracey Maloney

Nadya | Becca Claire Hart

Halka | Serena Brook

Yasia | Julia Valen

Singers, Descendants | Olga Frayman and Johanna Gorman Baer

Creative team

Directed by Theatre Novi Most co-founders Lisa Channer and Vladimir Rovinsky, with stage management by Cameron Fleck, by dramaturgy by Wendy Weckwerth, technical direction by Zeb Hults, scenic design by Sarah Bahr, assistant scenic design by Kayla Marie Mielke, property design by Ursula Bowden, costume design by Andrea M Gross, assistant costume design by Lily Turner, lighting design by Rob Perry, sound design by Dan Dukich, projection design by Davey T. Steinman, assistant projection design by Neil Standerwick, violence choreography by Annie Enneking, musical direction by Johanna Gorman Baer, Ukrainian Translation by Antonina Yashchuk, and marketing/promotion by Em Adam Rosenberg.

Photos by Dan Norman Photography.