We Shall Overcome

The young Belarusian director Palina Dabravolskaya teams up with musician Jiří Hradil (Tata Bojs, Lesní zvěř) and the Goose on a String Theatre ensemble to embark on a journey in the footsteps of everyday heroines. Dabravolskaya is intent on giving a voice to women capable of overcoming various challenges without the prospect of receiving awards or recognition: raising children, maintaining households, caring for patients, seeking employment in a new country, or transcending the boundaries of roles set out for women. Contemporary forms of female heroism take centre stage, whether it be in the form of monologues giving way to songs or scenes bordering on concert appearances. At the Goose on a String open-air stage we are in for a good dose of empowerment and inspiration – in the words of the Czech-born Madeleine Albright: It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.

Palina Dabravolskaya (1995) graduated from the Belarusian State Academy of Arts as an actress in 2017; following her involuntary flight into exile, she went on to study directing in Warsaw with Ivan Vyrypaev, an internationally acclaimed film and theatre director and writer. Her directorial debut, a production of The Room is Dying by the Belarusian playwright Mikita Ilyinchik, was ranked among the top ten Belarusian productions of 2019. At the Theatre World Festival Brno 2022, she guest starred in Sarmatia, a musical drama combining folk music and hip hop dedicated to exploring the pitfalls of pulling up one’s roots and relocating to a different country.