THE SEARCH BY UKRAINIAN PUPPETEERS FOR NEW DRAMATURGY AND APPROACHES FOR ESTABLISHING ARTISTIC AND SOCIETAL DIALOGUE WITH THE AUDIENCE

Review of «Chronicles of Dreams»: a collection of plays about famous Ukrainians / concept by Daria Ivanova- Hololobova; NGO «UNIMA-UKRAINE». Lviv, 2026. 156 p.

Abstract

The review of the collection of plays «Chronicles of Dreams» by the Non-Governmental Organization «Ukrainian
National Center of the International Puppet Theatre Union «UNIMA-UKRAINE» provides an analysis of four dramaturgical
pieces dedicated to prominent figures in Ukrainian ballet (Serzh Lyfar), cinema (Oleksandr Dovzhenko), theatre (Serhii
Yefremov) and science (Ihor Sikorskyi), and are designed for staging using the expressive means of puppet theatre. An
attempt has been made to identify ways in which puppeteers can create a space for artistic and socially responsible
communication with readers and potential audiences – children and teenagers. The subject of dialogue with the target
audience is the exploration of the lives and creativity of famous Ukrainians, though not in an informative or didactic manner,
but in a theatrical and poetic, even detective-fantasy style. The reviewer has divided the plays into two conceptual groups: a
chronological, linear narrative model of the hero’s biography («The Flight of Icarus: The Birth and Rise of Serhii Lyfar»,
«Sikorskyi: Chronicles of Dreams») and the protagonist’s own retrospective journey into the past and its reflection («WHAT
Sashko Knew: A Mythical Detective Story about the First Cinema», «I Still Play with Puppets»).