The Reckoning is an intimate work of documentary theatre composed from a verified archive of witness testimonies chronicling Russia's war of aggression. It is now playing at London's Arcola Theatre to universal acclaim.
We are too often tempted to turn our eyes away from Ukraine
Rory Finnin
The Guardian calls it "shattering." The Stage heralds it as a "challenging, artfully constructed indictment of Russian war crimes in Ukraine."
Written by Anastasiia Kosodii and Josephine Burton, and directed by Burton, The Reckoning channels voices of Ukrainians across the country - a priest, a volunteer, a dentist, a security guard, a journalist - who are forced to confront the sudden horrors of invasion and occupation and to repair bonds of trust amid violence and fear. These voices are real, drawn from witness statements collected and conserved by the journalists and lawyers behind The Reckoning Project.
Rory Finnin, Professor of Ukrainian Studies and a Fellow of Robinson College at Cambridge, collaborated with Burton to help shape the play. His decades of research into Ukraine's culture and society formed the basis for a grant in support of The Reckoning from the University of Cambridge's AHRC Impact Starter Fund account.
"Our collaboration with Rory Finnin has been invaluable throughout the making of The Reckoning," said Burton, who is also Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Dash Arts. "Rory's insights into Ukraine's past and present gave me deeper grounding as a director and co-writer and helped sharpen the questions the play asks of its audience."
The Reckoning blends dynamic storytelling with movement, music, and food to forge new routes of solidarity and understanding with the audience. As Everything Theatre notes in a glowing review, "We leave not as passive spectators but as an active part of the struggle."
Attendees share in a summer salad made over the course of the play by the Ukrainian and British cast - Tom Godwin, Simeon Kyslyi, Marianne Oldham, and Olga Safronova - who bring empathy, humour, and integrity to each scene. The conclusion of each performance features an invited speaker from the audience who comes to the stage to reckon with their own experience of the play from different ethical and intellectual perspectives.
Professor Finnin spoke on the play's first night at the Arcola Theatre.
"Over three years into Russia's full-scale invasion, we are too often tempted to turn our eyes away from Ukraine," said Finnin. "But The Reckoning empowers us to look closely and to see with new purpose. It has been an incredible privilege to support a dynamic work of art that brings Ukrainian voices to the fore and challenges us to listen and respond to them, with urgency and moral clarity."
The Reckoning runs through 28 June at London's Arcola Theatre.
