What is the use of art in time of war? Shot a few months prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski’s documentary probes this thorny question with a searing intimacy. The film observes an alternative production of Hamlet, which brings together a group of Ukrainian performers from all walks of life and as volatile emotions are spilled on to the stage, performance becomes a conduit for personal catharsis as well as artistic expression.
In the film, scenes of the rehearsal process are interspersed with revelations about the actors’ backgrounds. Many of them are soldiers on the frontline: Slavik and Katia, for example, have endured the bloodshed of combat as well as the horrors of captivity. Roman, a trained actor, was thrust on to the battlefield as a medic, a responsibility for which he was both professionally and emotionally ill-equipped. As the actors battle inner demons, the stage transforms into a common ground for understanding. Hailing from a conservative region of the country, Slavik admits to having his preconceptions erased through meeting Rodion, who proudly incorporates his traumatic experience as a queer person into his performance. The rigid parameters of national pride are also up for debate, as Oksana, a feminist actor, raises important inquiries about the place of women in Ukrainian society.
These differences of opinions are processed not just through heated arguments, but also via the medium of dramaturgy. By emphasising the collaborative process of performance, the film stresses that unity must be achieved through holistic dialogue rather than an autocratic consolidation of ideas. The documentary’s postscript feels even more shattering in this regard: with most of the cast called up for military conscription, opportunities for creative experiments like this are already a thing of the past.
• The Hamlet Syndrome is on True Story from 9 May
