At the Lviv Academic Puppet Theatre, a literary and musical composition entitled “From You to Me” was staged to mark the 95th anniversary of Atena Pashko – Ukrainian poet, civic activist and wife of Viacheslav Chornovil.
The production introduces audiences to the poetry of Atena Pashko, in which personal experiences are interwoven with themes of freedom, human dignity, women’s strength and the struggle for Ukrainian statehood. The composition features poems about love, separation, the years of political repression and the rebirth of Ukraine.
The performance involved four actors: actor of the Maria Zankovetska National Drama Theatre Roman Bily, actress of the First Theatre Lesia Shkapiak, as well as actresses of the creative studio “Teatr u Koshyku” (“Theatre in a Basket”) Lidiia Danylchuk and Tetiana Storozhuk. The director of the production was the poet’s daughter, Iryna Volytska.
During the event, Iryna Volytska reminded those present that Atena Pashko would soon have turned 95. She stressed that this production is intended to reveal to the audience the poetic dimension of her mother’s work, as for many people she is known first and foremost as a civic activist and the wife of Viacheslav Chornovil.
The gathering was addressed by Lviv Regional Council deputy Oreslava Khomyk, who spoke to the actors and representatives of civil society organisations.
“Today we have watched such a moving performance! Remembering Mrs Atena and Viacheslav Chornovil, you realise how much light and inspiration these figures have left behind. The Lviv Regional Council sincerely thanks the creative studio ‘Teatr u Koshyku’ for preserving their memory and for their outstanding artistic mastery” — Oreslava Khomyk
On behalf of the Lviv Regional Council, she presented a certificate of appreciation to actress Tetiana Storozhuk.
Atena Pashko (1931–2012) was born in the village of Bystrytsia in the Lviv region. During the Soviet period she openly spoke out in defence of repressed figures of Ukrainian culture, for which she suffered persecution, searches, dismissals from her job, and her poetry was not allowed to be published. In 1991, at the founding congress of the “Soiuz Ukrainok” (“Union of Ukrainian Women”), she was elected head of this organisation, later becoming its honorary chair.
After the death of Viacheslav Chornovil in 1999, Atena Pashko continued her civic and political activities, supporting the People’s Movement of Ukraine. She died on 20 March 2012 in Kyiv at the age of 80 and was buried at Baikove Cemetery next to Viacheslav Chornovil.