WHEN: 23 January – 17 March
WHERE: Forge – The Vaults, Launcelot Street (near Waterloo station)
Admission: from £26.50. Book here
Presented by Selfconscious Productions & Wild Yak, in association with Hot Feat
★★★★★ Broadway Baby ★★★★★ Ed Fest Magazine ★★★★★ British Theatre Guide ★★★★ Toronto Star
The award-winning (Scotsman Fringe First, Amnesty International Freedom of Expression) theatrical sensation comes to London in a brand new version from the directors of the Belarus Free Theatre.
Based on Mark and Marichka Marczyks’ first hand experiences during the 2014 Kyiv Uprising, Counting Sheep invites you to lose yourself in the events that changed the course of Ukrainian history forever. Sing, march, protest, dance, eat, help, recoil, fight, laugh, cry.
With folk singing, found footage and revolutionary staging this ‘Guerrilla Folk Opera’ is an electrifying exploration of human resilience.
This production is a unique artistic collaboration between Mark and Marichka Marczyk, whose lives changed forever while fighting for freedom and love in Maidan Square, and Natalia Kaliada and Nicolai Khalezin, founders of Belarus Free Theatre, whose struggles with the repressive dictatorship in Belarus are well documented. This joint theatrical statement from people who went through real life and death situations makes for an explosive stage experience.
TICKET TYPES: CHOOSE YOUR EXPERIENCE.
Protester (Premium): Take a seat at the high table, right in the heart of the action. This is no ordinary theatre experience and audience members should be prepared to be a part of the action. Ticket includes a light meal and drink. £40 (£30 Previews) – plus £1.50 Booking Fee.
Protester (Regular): Join the revolution. Sing. Dance. Eat. Drink. Protest. This is no ordinary theatre experience and audience members should be prepared to be a part of the action. Ticket includes a snack. £35 (£25 Previews) – plus £1.50 Booking Fee.
Observer: Watch the revolution unfold from the gallery above. Please note this is not an immersive ticket. £25 (£18 Previews) – plus £1.50 Booking Fee.
Press & Reviews
★★★★★ “A theatrical triumph” / “Everything theatre should be and more – everyone, everywhere should see it” – Broadway Baby
“As close as one could get to experiencing a revolution without actually putting your life on the line” – Torontoist
★★★★★ Ed Fest Magazine – “A theatre adventure that really gets under your skin”
★★★★★ British Theatre Guide
★★★★ “Alarming, Joyous and Thought-Provoking” – Toronto Star
About the company
Selfconscious Productions & Wild Yak, in association with Hot Feat
Mark and Marichka Marczyk met and fell in love on Independence Square in Kyiv at the height of the Revolution of Dignity. They have travelled across Ukraine volunteering, performing for soldiers and DPs, and writing about their experiences (Brick Literary Magazine, Humber Literary Review, Now Magazine, Carte Blanche). Together they perform around the world with their electro-folk project Balaklava Blues and the infamous balkan-klezmer-gypsy-party-punk-super-band, Lemon Bucket Orkestra.
Natalia Kaliada and Nicolai Khalezin are the founders and artistic directors of Belarus Free Theatre. The Belarus Free Theatre (BFT) is an award-winning theatre company founded in 2005 in Minsk under Europe’s last surviving dictatorship. Its existence is illegal in a country where only state-sanctioned theatre is permitted. Since 2011, BFT has been based between Minsk and London where founding members, husband and wife team Natalia Kaliada and Nicolai Khalezin, are political refugees in the UK. Described by The New York Times as, “one of the bravest and most inspired underground troupes on the planet”, BFT has brought audiences some of the world’s most provocative theatre across the globe. BFT is an associate company of the Young Vic.