This lecture explores how contemporary Russophone playwrights respond to the Russia–Ukraine war and forced displacement between 2022 and 2025. It examines how dramatists from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus reflect experiences of censorship, exile, and war, and how the full-scale invasion has reshaped their creative and professional environments. The lecture also considers the linguistic and ethical rift within the Russophone scene, as many Ukrainian authors abandon Russian, while others continue writing in it. Key texts and voices will be discussed. The lecture will interest Slavic scholars and all those tracing cultural shifts in post-2022 Europe.
Natalia Skorokhod is a theater scholar and critic. Until 2023, she was a full professor at the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts in St. Petersburg. She has authored several books, including How to Adapt Prose and Postdrama Analysis, and currently she has the status of "scholar in exile" and works in Berlin. Her research focuses on Russian-language drama, contemporary playwriting, and cultural displacement. During the academic year 2025/26, Natalia Skorokhod will be a Senior Fellow at the Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg Greifswald.
Moderation: Professor Dr. Roman Dubasevych