Antonina (Ukraine)

Part 1: A Text for Theater
By Antonina Crimea | Translated by John Freedman

Directed by Wayne Maugans
Featuring Niccolò Walsh
The evening begins with a raw, autobiographical monologue written by Antonina Crimea in a single, breathless sitting from a combat position in the trenches. A visceral meditation on presence; the piece creates a rare space where the "here and now" of the front line and the "one time there" of the theater hall collide. (10 minutes)

Part 2: Antonina

By Tetiana Kytsenko | Translated by John Freedman with Nataliia Bratus
Directed by Lisa Rothe
Featuring: Ellen Nikbakht and Kathleen Salazar

In this urgent documentary drama, Antonina Crimea, a nonbinary soldier, faces the ultimate mirror: a dialogue with "T," the civilian they were before the invasion. Stripping away the romantic myths of combat, Antonina reveals the trenches as a brutal equalizer—a place where identity is stripped back and a kinship deeper than blood is forged. (40 minutes)

Performed in English.

Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival, honoring Václav Havel, is a showcase of contemporary European theater organized each year in New York City. Conceived in 2017 as a shared endeavor of the Václav Havel Center (VHC) and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA), the festival honors the legacy of Czech playwright, dissident and political thinker Vaclav Havel. The 2026 festival is being produced in partnership with Untitled Theater Company No. 61.

Each edition of Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival addresses current sociopolitical trends in Central and Eastern Europe, offering New York audiences a unique opportunity to witness the region’s theatrical zeitgeist.

The festival is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.