MAZEPA: Knight, Lover, Hetman. Ukrainian theatre

A dramatic journey into the life of Hetman Ivan Mazepa — between love, power, loyalty, rebellion and the struggle for Ukraine’s future. Ukrainian Historical-Literary CoffeeHouse new season 2026–2027 Step into an afternoon of Ukrainian history, literature, music, theatre and community in Cambridge. Join us for a memorable celebration of Pokrova, the Day of Defenders of Ukraine, Cossacks’ Day, and the Ukrainian HAM Centre’s 3rd Anniversary. Ticket: £12 online or £15 at the entrance to cover our basic expenses. Reserve your place now and join us for this special celebration of Ukrainian heritage, creativity and tradition. A Special Programme 🏆 “White Bird” Literary Contest Celebrate the talent of Ukrainian writers and poets at the nomination and awards ceremony for contributors to the First Ukrainian Almanac “White Bird” 2026. 🎭 Costumed Drama “Mazepa” Experience a powerful Ukrainian-language performance based on the work of Volodymyr Smotritel, the Folk' Artist of Ukraine. The production creates a vivid sense of the historical reality of the period while drawing clear parallels with Russia's ongoing military invasion of Ukraine . The performance is particularly striking visually, combining sophisticated stage design, lighting and sound, as well as carefully selected props, costumes and highly accomplished acting. The role of Mazepa is performed by renowned Ukrainian actor Volodymyr Smotrytel , who, long before the full-scale invasion, founded Ukraine's only permanent one-actor theatre. Over more than 30 years, the theatre has created solo performances in a wide range of genres, participated in numerous international competitions and received Grand Prix awards . Today, the actor is based in the United Kingdom , where he performs in different cities as part of the travelling one-actor theatre KUT . PLEASE NOTE As an audio summary is played before each scene , the performance is accessible to an English-speaking audience . This makes“Mazepa” suitable not only for Ukrainian audiences, but also for international theatre program. English-speaking guests are warmly welcome. A video introduction and written English programme notes will help everyone follow and enjoy the story. ☕ Refreshments and Community Relax with tea and coffee, meet members of the Ukrainian community, and share an inspiring afternoon with friends, families and fellow supporters of Ukrainian culture. Our audience: 16+ This is a ticketed event. You help to support Ukrainian culture abroad, while enabling us to continue bringing Ukrainian literature and history to the community. Book online for £12 and be part of the Ukrainian Historical-Literary CoffeeHouse 2026–2027! ІВАН МАЗЕПА: ЛИЦАР, КОХАНЕЦЬ, ГЕТЬМАН — ЗАХИСНИК ЧИ ЗРАДНИК? Чоловік, якого кохання мало не погубило. Козак, який став гетьманом. Дипломат, що грав у небезпечну політичну гру між європейськими державами. Союзник Петра І, який зрештою виступив проти нього. Гетьман, якого одні назвали зрадником, а інші — одним із перших українських державників, що наважився кинути виклик імперії. Хто він насправді — Іван Мазепа? І де закінчується історія та починається легенда? Драмою "Мазепа" відкривається Новий сезон Украінськоі Історично- Літературної Кавʼярні 2026-2027 у Кембриджі