News of the war in Ukraine reaches us through many channels: social media, news services, the press, television, the internet. Yet we rarely have the chance to listen directly to those who have lived through it.

In the unique project I Didn't Leave Ukraine (which is part of the broader project Who Am I?), Estonian director Merle Karusoo – known for her biographical theatre works – gives voice to veterans of the war that still rages just beyond our border, even as we increasingly try to look away. This performance does not allow us such comfort.

A face-to-face encounter with veterans speaking about their experiences shakes the audience to the core. The protagonists bear witness to their courage and sacrifice, sharing their memories with brutal honesty and immediacy. Colliding in their stories are helplessness and determination, and degradation and pride. In Karusoo’s drama, “Slava Ukraini!” – the cry resounding all over the world in expression of solidarity with the people fighting in Ukraine for freedom and democracy not only for their own country – is shouted by those who have irretrievably lost their health and physical strength in that war. A shocking theme in this theatrical encounter is desertion, refusal to participate in war. When such an attitude is condemned by politicians speaking from the safety of their office armchairs, we may be inclined to consider them right. But it takes on a wholly different meaning when the right to preserve your life and safety is discussed by those whose lives were truly jeopardised.

I Didn't Leave Ukraine compels us to ask difficult questions about life after war, the trauma that has become a collective experience, and about solidarity – whether with those who fight, or those who choose to give up the fight.

Merle Karusoo's dramatic text I Didn't Leave Ukraine – Original Drama Award 2026, Special Award nominee 2026

Director: Merle Karusoo
Director's assistant: Sergei Poljatšihhin
Video designer: Laura Romanova
Producer: Märt Meos

On stage: Ukrainian war veterans Andri Usach, Viktoria Shinkarenko, Dmitro Polovian; actress Eva Karpjuk

Duration: 1 hour and 25 minutes, no intermission.
Premiere: August 16th, 2025 at the Freedom Theatre Festival in the studio hall of Vaba Lava Narva centre
Co-production of R.A.A.A.M. and Rivne Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama Theatre

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