Theatre Studio of Internationally Displaced People (IDP) Uzhik:  Formed of people displaced during the war in Ukraine, the Theatre Studio of IDP’s Uzhik is made up of teachers, students, labourers, salesmen, doctors and others who sought refuge in the town of Uzhhorod during the conflict.

None are professional actors, but all have said to have found hope and meaning through theatre and the ‘spirit of Shakespeare’.  

Over a long career, John Gielgud played King Lear many times. He also directed this 1950 production, portraying the monarch as a foolish aristocrat planning a carefree retirement living with his children. However, the daughters refuse to accommodate the king
and his huge band of knights, and Lear ends up alone in a raging storm. As the elements batter him, a sense of turmoil and desolation ravage his mind.

The Uzhik theatre group chose to display King Lear’s costumes worn before and after the storm, representing its physical and psychological impact.

The group of ten young people of different nationalities have recently arrived in the UK and are learning English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) at Bradford College. The college is a lead Associate School, part of the RSC’s Associate School programme, in partnership with Bradford Theatres.  

Shakespeare’s history plays chronicle England’s bloodiest decades of civil war. Michael Boyd directed them all in a multi-season RSC marathon from 2005-2008.

This heavy crown, worn by the naive and inexperienced King Henry VI, appealed to the Bradford College group. One student questioned how society expects leader to make all the decisions – wouldn’t it be better to seek many ideas from many people? 

Welcome Here Ukrainian Refugee Network are a group of Ukrainian nationals who have re settled in Warwickshire after the start of the war. The group met via the Welcome Here refugee network. Welcome Here is a Stratford-upon-Avon organisation of community volunteers helping refugees rebuild their lives and reach their full potential in safety and dignity.   

In Charles Dickens’ tale A Christmas Carol, three ghosts visit selfish Mr Scrooge, and help him change his ways. Danielle Henry wore this costume as the gutsy, lively second ghost. The Ukrainian refugee group felt an immediate connection between this dress and Ukraine’s beautiful, lush forests.

It brought to mind a beloved play by Lesya Ukrainka that all Ukrainian schoolchildren study. In that story, an elf woman – the spirit of the forest – weaves spells in a dress of leaves and ferns.