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Dima Levytskyi: The Beilis Case
Ukraine

The Beilis case is a story that tells about the Jew Mendel Beilis accused for murder of a Christian boy, apparently for ceremonial purposes, which took place in 1911-1913 in Kyiv in the days of the Russian Empire. Based on Mendel Beilis’s story example this play shows how tsarist Russia 110 years ago made the Jews its “objective enemy” in order to whip up the social confrontations for political purposes. Russia applies the same repressive methods today, implementing imperial policy
through the war against Ukraine and the Ukrainians. We each experience it right now. Therefore, we perceive Beilis’s story through an experience of an actress and an actor. Voice and sound are the key media; the audio sequence is provided to the audience through headphones. We thus research the way listening clarifies the statement and affects the perception of facts and events. It is a documentary performance produced as part of the Face to Faith International Project, which is dedicated to the topic of faith and its significance for society today.

 

director - Dmytro Levytskyi
dramaturgy - Lesia Berezdetska

text - Dmytro Levytskyi, Lesia Berezdetska, Anastasiia Lisovska, Piotr Armianovskyi, Nadiia Kalyniuk, Oksana Leuta
(the text uses quotes from Mendel Beilis’s book “The Story of My Sufferings”)

composer - Mariana Klochko
artist - Serhii Petliuk
training - Nina Khyzhna
light - Sofia Kokuienko
media - Volodymyr Fanta

cast - Piotr Armianovskyi, Nadiia Kalyniuk, Oksana Leuta, Anastasiia Lisovska.

project managers – Liuba Ilnytska, Bohdan Hrytsiuk
production manager –  Oleksandra Shutova
 

 

 

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE OPEN CALL WINNING AUTHORS/TEAMS BEFORE THE START OF THE REHEARSAL AND CREATIVE PROCESS

Why is the topic Faith important (for you)?

It’s important to me  to discover Faith when it unites huge masses of people. If millions believe in the same thing, it is important for me as an artist to understand how this belief can affect my life and my loved ones in this society. Especially in times of such shocks as a pandemic, we can observe a picture of how the faith of some (or disbelief) directly affects the life - including everyday life - of others.

What do you expect from the project?

First of all, I expect to do a performance at the Jam Factory. This is one of the few theaters in Ukraine that has been built in recent years. And it is a great honor for me to be part of the opening of this theater.

What are you looking forward to in this project?

Our project is connected with the figure of Mendel Beilis and examines how the Faith and religious figures influence the electoral process, either parliamentary or presidential elections. Now my team and I are studying cases and processes of influence on elections by religious leaders in other countries, except Ukraine.

What inspires you the most?

I am inspired by people's stories and good dreams. 

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