Les Kurbas

Kurbas was born in Sambir (then part of Austria-Hungary) on 25 February 1887, and was given a double name Oleksandr-Zenon, for short Les or Oles. His father, Stepan Pylypovych Kurbas (Yanovych) (1862–1908), was a Ruthenian actor who descended from Lithuanian lineage. His mother, Vanda Adolfivna (nata Kulczycka), born in Staryi Skalat, was also an actress, the daughter of an Austrian, Adolf Teichman. His parents' last name Yanovych was their pseudonym, for which they were better known, particularly in theater of "Ruska besida". Besides Les who was the first child there were three other children Kornylo (died 2 July 1895), Nestor, and Nadia, however none of them survived past their teenage years. At first Kurbas studied at Ternopil gymnasium. In 1907, he enrolled in the Philosophy Department of the University of Vienna, from which he transferred in 1908 following his father's death, later enrolling at Lviv University (1908–1910). This was determined by the need to lead Ukrainian culture out of the provincialism it had fallen into as a result of the century-long occupation by Poland and Russia. In the midst of the first world war Kurbas formed the "Ternopil theatrical evenings" (1915–1916) and the Molody Teatr (Young Theater) in Kyiv in 1916, which was the first ensemble to experiment with both new and ancient acting techniques. Kurbas directed and acted in plays such as Gogol's Revizor and, most importantly and to much acclaim, Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. Due to the shortage in resources and the general political chaos towards the end of the First World War the ensemble was disbanded. Along with it he was a professor at the Kyiv Music-Drama Institute in 1916–1919 and later Kharkiv Music-Drama Institute in 1926–1933. In 1920–21 Les Kurbas founded a Kyiv Drama Theater "Kiydramte". Kurbas' next major project was Haydamaks (several stagings from 1920 on), a poem on the eighteenth-century Ukrainian upsurge against Polish occupation by Ukrainian poet laureate Taras Shevchenko. The production was the most important Ukrainian theater production of the twentieth century and went on to be staged even after Kurbas' death (without mention of his name, though). Kurbas integrated all the techniques of the Molody era, most notably in his treatment of the choir. == Berezil Theater ==

It was only in 1922 that conditions in the now Soviet-ruled Ukraine were stable enough to allow Kurbas to found the "Berezil'" ("spring" or "new beginning") in Kyiv. In a same year Les Kurbas invited Vadym Meller to cooperation as a chief artist of the "Berezil'" Theater. Vadym Meller joined "Berezil'" with the experience of both easel artist and scenographer. The expressively unchained drawing, characteristic of V.Meller's early work, will become foundation, the origin in later stage productions done together with Les Kurbas. Since 1922 Les Kurbas also worked for the Odesa Film Studio where he directed such movies as "Shvedskaya spichka" (1922), "Arsenaltsy" (1925), and others. == Imprisonment and execution ==

is adorned by flowers for his birth anniversary, March 2026 In 1933, Kurbas was ousted from "Berezil". He was allowed to go to Moscow, where he probably was the major force behind Solomon Mikhoels' famous staging of King Lear (1934). Later, in 1933, he was arrested and put into a labour camp (as were many other cultural figures). Even under these conditions Les Kurbas showed his unshakable love for the theater. As his friend and competitor Vsevolod Meyerhold would do later during his own imprisonment, Kurbas organized a camp theater and was even in touch with the author of one of the plays he staged to discuss dramaturgical decisions. Kurbas was then moved to the remote Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea, and was one of the "lost transport" of prisoners shipped back to the mainland in 1937 from Solovki. It is now known that he was shot on 3 November 1937 with 289 other members of the Ukrainian intelligentsia at the killing field and burial ground of Sandarmokh near Medvezhyegorsk, in Karelia (northwest Russia), a site discovered in 1997 by members of the Memorial Society. Joseph Stalin had directly ordered the killing of over one thousand artists and intellectuals held in the Solovki prison camp. Kurbas' friend Mykola Kulish met the same fate. After Stalin's death, Kurbas was rehabilitated in 1957. == Posterity ==

The "Berezil'" Theater lived on under the name of "Shevchenko Theater". One of Kurbas' lead actors, Marjan Kurshelnytsky, led it until the 1960s, but had to make many artistic compromises. Kurbas' work could only be mentioned again from the 1960s onwards, yet the overdue research was only begun in late 1980s, mostly in Ukraine. There is a tendency in the Ukrainian research to glorify Kurbas. Some hagiographers claim that Kurbas was a genius (he was indeed multi-talented) who anticipated every development of the later 20th century theater (some of which he did, as for example in the work of Italian director Eugenio Barba's Odin Teatret). Another important falsification is that Kurbas was not a communist. It would be more correct to say that he had an entirely different vision of communism and the potential of a new society for the development of human creativity. His most important goal as an artist was to "make the audience feel more alive". == Theatre award ==

The Les Kurbas Prize is a theatre award of Ukraine that is named after the famous director. ==See also==