The Yanka Kupala National Academic Theater. An archive photo
MINSK, 28 November (BelTA) – An experimental project — a theatrical reading of the rural novel Vyrai [paradise] — was presented on the Chamber Stage of the Yanka Kupala National Academic Theater today, BelTA has learned.
The project was born thanks to a creative collaboration between young theater staff and the young writer, the novel’s author Viktoria Klevko. The theater artist Ilya Kruk, for whom the reading of the novel was his debut as a director, said that he met Viktoria several years ago in social networks. The girl often came to see productions at the Yanka Kupala National Academic Theater. Back then she shared that she was writing a rural novel called Vyrai [paradise]. Subsequently, this work became a finalist in the LitUp literary contest.
“Any author, especially a Belarusian one, dreams of having their work presented on the stage of the Yanka Kupala Theater. For me it was a dream that seemed like science fiction. I am just a novice author. And the Yanka Kupala Theater prefers staging the classics,” noted Viktoria Klevko.
In her words, all the events that preceded today’s reading as well as the reading itself are a great compliment to her as an author and a great credit of confidence from the theater administration and the entire troupe involved in this process. A lot of effort has been poured into it and serious work has been done by the director and the actors.
“The novel raises very important topics. It is like an eternal classic that is perfectly relevant today. From the first line I read (and I was one of the first people to read the rough copies of Vyrai) I started thinking and doing something. And then things were set into motion… And on 27 September 2025 we arranged a presentation of the book to the audience on the Chamber Stage,” continued Ilya Kruk.
Due to the demand from the audience the decision was made in favor of organizing a genuine reading of the book. Tickets for the first reading were sold out in less than 24 hours. “This morning two seats became available. Ten minutes later, they were gone,” the director said. The next reading is scheduled for 27 December.
The young director remarked that the reading format has its own charm. “When we read, the audience’s imagination works much more actively. I know many people who are not theatergoers but who really like this format. After all, you don’t have to accept someone else’s vision from the stage. You hear the text as the author wrote it and impose your own vision on it,” he said.
Dwelling on his plans, Ilya Kruk said he would like the reading of this novel to continue until the end of the season. However, the theater will analyze the audience’s response. The project may go on a tour into the regions.
“The story is very relatable. Many of those sitting in the hall leave with the same feelings. They say that such things have happened in their lives, everyone has faced them, but for some reason no one has discussed it. That’s why the project is so captivating,” the director noted. He emphasized that the project is experimental and its development will be monitored.
On the whole, representatives of the theater assured that the reading format will continue. The Yanka Kupala National Academic Theater is ready to accept and implement the ideas of young people. “We have talented young people, a young troupe. We are ready for new Belarusian authors, ready to read your works. The most important thing is that they have to be alive, have to resonate with us, and have to be understandable to the audience,” Ilya Kruk said.
The Vyrai [paradise] novel is dedicated to the theme of searching for one’s one home and, on the whole, to understanding one’s own place on Earth. The main character, Maria Zhuravel, seeks answers to these questions.
The cozy Chamber Stage of the Yanka Kupala National Academic Theater is designed precisely for such vivid experiments with dramatic material and immerses the audience in the life of a Belarusian village. The actors create a unique atmosphere on stage: the soulful voice of People’s Artist of Belarus Zinaida Zubkova, ancient melodies, the smell of hay, red apples. In the life of Maria Zhuravel, who searched for her earthly paradise all over the world and found it in her native village, everyone sees something they can relate to: the search for one’s true self, a reunion with a former love, a rethinking of the past, the path to a sense of belonging to one’s homeland. The heroine’s own reflections are intertwined with references to works of Belarusian poets, emphasizing that her heart belongs to this land.
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