Daisy Gibbons’ translation of an abstract play by Olha Matsiupa (written in 2017) is one of the winning entries for the Ukrainian Literature in Translation Prize. As the translator explains, this experimental piece documents ‘war trauma without showing frontline experience’. Set in Kyiv and framed by a Pilates class, the play involves incongruous characters, including a Pilates instructor who turns into an executioner, Herostratus, who orchestrates an arson thus killing the protagonist’s parents, and the protagonist’s traumatised partner.
INNA
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR/SALESWOMAN
INNA’S MUM/ANNA
INNA’S DAD/JOACHIM/THE MAN IN UNIFORM
HEROSTRATUS
Four or five actors are required for this play. Varying character combinations are possible.
The yellow middle of a flower
Breathe in
Breathe out
Breathe in
Breathe out
Arms down
Perched in their cages are three crows
Everyone from Kyiv knows the ones
Breathe in
Shoulders straight
Breathe out
Arms down
They can predict your fate
Or your downfall
Breathe in
Breathe out
We put value in things
We fear separation
And one more time
Breathe in
Breathe out
And one more time
Breathing deeply
Without holding our breath
The birds soar steeply
Body like a stone
Stone like a body
Make sure you do it well
Listen to the ringtone
Of Piano Concerto No. 2
Rachmaninoff
The smell of lovage
Lilies
Lilies of the valley
And basil on his body
You know the rustling sound lindens make
Your beloved, he is awake
Your beloved, he cannot sleep
Olive-coloured camouflage
When we’re sitting on the mat
It’s not like those beach outings
For soldiers and their families
Legs parallel
Parallel knees
Arms in front
You should reduce your caffeine intake
Back straight
Stomach sucked in
And let go
A complete fitness package
Watching our lower back
Shoulder blades mustn’t touch the floor
Our body mustn’t touch the sky
And the people in power ignore
Any sense of precaution
Cheeks bereft of the wind’s touch
These cages are not for birds
Measuring our steps and such
On every supermarket trip
The flowers of consumerism
Just like
The flowers of despotism
Between chin and chest
Could fit a chasm
The size of a fist
And one more time
Breathe in
And out
Your bedding is so soft
Inna your parents have died
A few minutes ago
Breathe in
Breathe out
Now, taking our elastic bands
And pulling on one leg
On an out breath we lie down
On the floor
Lifting up one leg with our bands
Letting the other fall parallel beside it
Inna, please accept my condolences
For your parents’ death
My condolences
And back to the starting position
Breathe in
Breathe out
The same with the left leg
This exercise is good for your core
And your arms
This is not for the poor
In spirit or blind in body
Right arm down
Left up
Breathe in
And out
I am stone
I am solid earth
Which hides the setting sun
Air can wear away stone
The body can become elastic
Plastic
Blood flowing through the body
Breathe in
Breathe out
Inna, what are you still doing here
Your parents need burying
Their bodies lay
On Zolotoustivska Street*
The street of ‘gilded lips’*
Breathe in
Breathe out
Your dad was in Afghanistan
And now he’s dead on a civvy street
Once we’re done with the exercise on our left leg
We pull our knees to our chest
And return to the sitting position
Taking our heels off the floor
There’s no need to fear other people
Keeping our balance as if we’re a chair
We place the band underneath us
Now pull it across
And upwards
On an exhale we open up
Feet forward
Hands and shoulders behind you
Lower back resting on the floor
Stomach sucked in
And on the exhale we open up
Why should we feed bluetits
If they’re made of stone
Now we lie down
On the inhale we return
To our original position
And one
Two
Three
Four
Breathe in
And out
One more time
Pilates allows us to unite our body and consciousness
And to become beautiful
That’s what you want
Breathe in, and out
Inna,
It’s not a mistake
The ambulance has already arrived
The police, too
Nobody can establish the cause of death
There were no witnesses
Your post has already got 29 ‘sad’ reacts on it
And 18 comments
Please accept our condolences
Do make sure
Your arms and head are level
And one last time
Breathe in
Breathe out
Let’s go back to the starting position
Sit down
Legs crossed
Back straight
Folding the stretch band in half
And pulling it apart
Arms up and parallel
On the inhale we bend our right arm
And on the exhale straighten it to the side
The left stays in the same position
Next the same exercise with the left arm
Let’s go
Breathe in
And out
Women shouldn’t just worry about their health
But their beauty
Beauty comes first
Breathe in
Breathe out
Inna,
It is very unfortunate that your parents
had to die in such mysterious circumstances
on your birthday
With the spirits of the righteous departed
O Lord our Saviour, lay to rest the souls of your servants and
bless them with eternal life
O Lord lay to rest
the souls of your servants
and your fathers
in the city of lightness
in the city of gladness
and grant them eternal memory
and breathe in, and breathe out
This exercise is good for your arm muscles,
back muscles
Watching out for the basics
we draw apart the band like a bow
keeping our shoulders on a level row
no hunching up to our ears
In one line
ribs and tummy tight
no rushing
no bumblebee’s flight
The body is risen from the ashes
Lord our God,
who formed man of the dust
and from his rib made a woman,
and gave man a helper,
who answers to him,
for it pleased the Lord
that man would not walk alone on this earth
and together they will return to the earth
Without rounding our backs
or hunching over
we stay level
head stretched to the ceiling
and without forgetting our breathing
Breathe in
and out
Pilates develops one’s flexibility, stamina, and dexterity
Breathe in
Breathe out
Inna stands up and drinks water
INNA
It’s not possible
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
Anything’s possible
INNA
I’m leaving
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
But we haven’t finished yet
INNA
But my parents
This must be a mistake
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
Hands held folded in front of us
INNA
They can’t be dead
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
You still need to lose another kilo
Or thereabouts
INNA
Can I go?
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
My dear, now is pilates time
You’re the one who wanted the perfect body
Letting our heads drop down
Breathe in
Breathe out
Now, let’s lie on our tummies
Holding on tight to the floor
Fold the band in half
And pull
Arms wide
Lifting our toes up off the ground
Breathe in
Breathe out
INNA
But it’s my birthday
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
Inna, you’re falling behind the rest of the group
INNA
I don’t care
I want to go
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
But it’s not like your parents are coming back anyway
INNA
But it’s my birthday today
Still
I have to go
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
But you haven’t been born yet
INNA
But I haven’t even died
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
Let’s try one more time
Breathe in
And breathe in
And out
Pilates helps us to be resilient
It helps soldiers in their rehabilitation
Pilates improves our awareness of our body’s physical form
But most importantly it grants grace and lightness
to the female body
Which may seduce, and seduce, and seduce…
INNA
Ow, that hurts
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR goes up to Inna and hurts her
INNA
That hurts
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
It’s in your head
INNA
It’s hurting me, stop it
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
You’re not flexible enough
INNA
But you can’t force it, ow
A scream
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
You have nothing to live for
Look how brittle, how weak you are
INNA
I still want to live
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
Let’s try one more time
Breathe in
Breathe out
Now let’s lie on our tummies
Holding on tight to the ground
Now we fold the band in half
And pull
Pilates gives us control over our body
Breathe in
And out
It enhances our sensuality
Attractiveness and femininity
Our fire and passion in bed
Pilates classes can certainly
Help you please a man in bed
INNA
I see the ships floating on the Dnipro River*
Arms wide
Lifting our toes up off the ground
Breathe in
And out
Pilates gives us control over our body
Since we don’t have a soul, do we?
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
You’re not pulling the stretch band properly
Breathe in
Breathe out
INNA
It hurts
Stop
Aaaaaaaaa
You’ve pulled my arm off
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
Thanks to pilates the metabolic function in the body is strengthened
And you can lose weight fast
White petal: one
In a watch shop
JOACHIM
Why don’t we buy her one with daisies on it
ANNA
Could we even find one like that?
JOACHIM
Well, why don’t we ask
SALESWOMAN
We haven’t any with daisies,
but we do with olives,
basil, lovage,
and lilies
JOACHIM
Do you have any others?
SALESWOMAN
We have ones with snakes, like Kyiv’s House of Snakes*
with cherubim and seraphim
with hoarfrost
and mulberries
with caterpillars
moth pupae
with caged birds
or a dead bride
JOACHIM
Are there any watches with stones on them?
SALESWOMAN
With stones?
We have ones with gilded lips
like Kyiv’s Zlatoustivska Street*
With the city Golden Gates*
Brodsky’s Mill*
The Covered Market*
Baron’s Castle*
Magister Mykhailo Hrushchevskyi’s house*
Or Merchant Novikov’s House*
JOACHIM
This is supposed to be a present for my daughter
ANNA
It is her birthday today
SALESWOMAN
But watches are a present given upon separation, upon parting
ANNA
We don’t believe in these superstitions
JOACHIM
We’ve come from another city
ANNA
We see each other a few times a year
JOACHIM
We live separately
ANNA
But we’re not separated
JOACHIM
And we’ll never be separated
SALESWOMAN
But one gives watches for eternal separation
ANNA
In which case we’ll take a walk, and you’ll have a look for us
You might find a watch with two daisies on it
White as snow
Snow white
SALESWOMAN
I said, we don’t have any
ANNA
We are waiting in hope
That our daughter
Will be married this year
JOACHIM
And it has to be daisies
To match her dress
SALESWOMAN
But daisies are such primitive flowers
ANNA
Maybe we could buy the one with a mill?
SALESWOMAN
With Brodsky’s Mill
JOACHIM
The mill looks like a watch
ANNA
The watch looks like a mill
JOACHIM
It looks like a flower
ANNA
Like a daisy
SALESWOMAN
They took down the mill in 2005*
Now it’s a Sheraton hotel
That they built for Euro 2012
Or not
Sorry, maybe I made a mistake
JOACHIM
In that case we will take a walk and have a think
ANNA
We’ll have a think what to buy
SALESWOMAN
A watch is for separation
JOACHIM
Stop repeating that
SALESWOMAN
Buy yourselves a watch with chestnuts on the clockface
with Kyiv chestnut trees
Daisies are rather primitive flowers
JOACHIM
I don’t need a watch
I use the sun to tell the time
SALESWOMAN
Buy this one of a haunted house
if you want a house of spirits
You’ll find that, in Kyiv
They are legion
ANNA
Leave us alone
SALESWOMAN
And buy a watch for yourselves
JOACHIM
We’re not going to buy any
For ourselves
SALESWOMAN
You can still buy one for yourself, you’re not your daughter
JOACHIM
It’s her birthday today
ANNA
Today was the day we were supposed to meet her fiancé
JOACHIM
At least we hope
He’s her fiancé
ANNA
Wait, what’s that on your arm?
SALESWOMAN
This was a gift from volunteers
in the conflict zone
from a town called Joy
It’s in Luhansk region
Anna goes up to her and tears off the watch
SALESWOMAN
Ouch, that hurts, you’re not having it
JOACHIM
It’s a separation gift, for eternal separation
SALESWOMAN
I’m calling the police, you hurt me
What has the time come for now?
JOACHIM
Pilates time
ANNA
Our daughter has pilates time
Because it improves one’s health
and prolongs life
JOACHIM
But we are going to church
SALESWOMAN
Where?
JOACHIM
To church
For a funeral
Or a wedding
A scream
JOACHIM
She loves me
ANNA
He loves me not
…
Petal: two
The Fitness Instructor and Inna, who is missing an arm
Both are in military uniform
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
He loves me
INNA
He loves me not
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
He loves me
INNA
He loves me not
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
Breathe in
INNA
Breathe out
…
Enter Man in Military Uniform. Inna and the Fitness Instructor do not see him.
INNA
My father loved me not, when I left my slippers lying around
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
He loves me
INNA
My mother loved me not, when I failed to wash my underwear
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
192 sad reacts
INNA
I loved him not, when he beat my mother
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
198 sad reacts, one like
INNA
But he has PTSD
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
200 sad reacts and comments expressing sympathies
INNA
He was in Afghan
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
No-one has liked it for the last minute
INNA
They came to Kyiv for my birthday
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
My condolences
INNA
We were supposed to celebrate my birthday this evening
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
Breathe in
INNA
I went to pilates after lunch
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
Breathe out
INNA
And they decided to take a walk around the city whilst I was gone
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
Don’t cry
INNA
I’m not crying, I can’t believe it, I want them to be alive
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
201 sad reacts
INNA
We were supposed to go on a tour round Kyiv
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
With the spirits of the righteous departed
INNA
I was supposed to introduce them to Josef
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
O Lord our Saviour, rest the souls of your servants
INNA
We were supposed to tell my parents that we were getting married
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
And bless them with eternal life
INNA
They would have been so happy to hear the news
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
The One, Lover of mankind
INNA
I’m leaving, I’m scared
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
But we still need to warm down
INNA
I cannot wait any longer
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
Shall I make you some tea? It’s brewed with chamomile daisies
INNA
I want to meet them again
At the station
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
But we are at the gym
Inside the shopping centre
Pilates will help you relax and release tension
INNA
I want tea
I want chamomile tea
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
Actually
We don’t have any tea
None made from chamomile daisies
INNA
Alright, let’s go with mint then
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
Ok, why don’t we see
Looks like we’re out of mint tea
INNA
Fine, I’m off
MAN IN ARMY UNIFORM
To get fucked?
INNA
Josef?
You were supposed to make dinner, you promised
MAN IN ARMY UNIFORM
I’ve already made it
INNA
What, have you signed up to pilates too?
MAN IN ARMY UNIFORM
The classes were free
INNA
But I haven’t seen you
MAN IN ARMY UNIFORM
You didn’t see me
Because it’s a surprise
For your birthday
Fuck
I want to be near you
INNA
Have you seen what’s happened?
MAN IN ARMY UNIFORM
They’re already in heaven
INNA
It’s some kind of mistake
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
We’ll drink some acacia tea
MAN IN ARMY UNIFORM
I’m undergoing a rehabilitation course
Doing pilates
It helps one achieve inner harmony through bodily health
INNA
It’s your PTSD
My father was also in Afghan
MAN IN ARMY UNIFORM
I’ve survived being held captive
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
Drink the tea
Calm down a little
MAN IN ARMY UNIFORM
Ay ay ay, it burns, it’s hot
INNA
Ay ay ay…
A scream
Leave me with one arm at least
Please
…
Petal: three
MAN IN ARMY UNIFORM
Breathe in
Breathe out
I cooked dinner
I had to go out
To get flour
From the mill
From the grain elevator
Brodsky’s Mill*
On the Dnipro River*
On Naberezhno-Khreshchatytska Street, on the riverfront*
Radishes
And cucumbers
I should have bought them
At the Covered Market
Or the Haymarket, people call it
But I couldn’t find them
They weren’t there
Only massive ruins
and massive hotels
and complexes
Support the sky
Birds don’t fly over the Dnipro
That is
Before my eyes
The stone fragments
of dilapidated houses
Fuck
I’ll smash them up
With a hammer
Into smaller pieces
Son of a bitch
And I do
All sorts of physical exercises
Like pilates
Fucking waste of time
They say it helps
To overcome
Post-traumatic stress disorder
And improve the function of one’s internal organs
Breathe in
Breathe out
I made us
Dinner
From stone fragments
And I was supposed
To buy flowers
For Inna
But on my way
All I could find
Was
These shitty little daisies
Fucking, cunting little daisies
And I thought to myself
These flowers are so primitive
The battlefields
And the steppes
Are sown full of them
All around them
Might be
Grenades
Tripwires
breathe in
breathe out
breathe in
breathe in
The padre
In our unit
He told me to pray
And all this shall pass
He told me just to pray
To the Mother of God
To God
And to find myself a woman
…
Petal: four
JOACHIM
Back during the war, a bomb destroyed a house
There I saw a girl picking flowers
have her arm blown off
But this was the war
It is still here, right before my eyes
I have seen many blown-off arms and legs
of my brothers-in-arms
HEROSTRATUS
No one remembers this girl
Doesn’t the National Geographic
Have her photo in it
She has all her arms
And all her legs
Her pictures are all over the internet
No-one remembers her
Like me
I set fire to all of Kyiv’s landmarks
Well, you know my story
But it wasn’t like that
I didn’t mean for everyone to remember me
Because of that temple to the gods that burnt down
That never existed anyway
I just really believe
That all old buildings and churches are evil
Besides, I had an artistic goal
I have a picture gallery
With selfies of me
In front of buildings
That don’t exist
And this House of Daisies
Where you both met
It’s not even a tourist sight
It’s just
Just an old house
How much can you pray for an ancient building
How much can you really pray for it
How much can you really pray
How much can you really love something that doesn’t exist
…
The final petal
HEROSTRATUS
I shall come to a meadow where daisies bloom, and I shall pluck a flower and tell my fortune: she loves me, he loves me not. I know no one loves me. I am hated. That is why it is better for me to practice pilates on the meadow, or yoga or pilates or yoga or pilates, on the meadow, surrounded by the singing of uncaged birds. With my perfect body, that will grow more gaunt and transparent, I will flood the city with blood—with unclean menstrual blood—and when I will go and be an economic migrant in Italy; when my husband beats me because he changed beyond recognition after Afghan; when people ask me, ‘Are you from Russia?’, I will reply, ‘No, I am from Ukraine’, while spewing up this blood. And they will say ‘beautiful women from Eastern Europe’, as they wipe the blood off themselves and smile. I am a beautiful women and I have enough blood for everyone. For the Polish parliament, first of all. I am a beautiful women and I will keep doing pilates until every mine bedded in amongst those primitive flowers, fields and stones, explodes. Until I am consumed by a yellow flame, within a white flower.
[Read in Ukrainian here].
Translator Notes
The buildings mentioned in the play and marked by an asterisk are old Kyiv landmarks that have been destroyed. One or two still exist but are minor local places of interest. The playwright has suggested that the producer may replace them with similar landmarks from the city where the play is being performed. I prefer to leave them in and preserve the work’s Ukrainian context until the play has been performed at least once.
For the ‘X loves me, X loves me not’ passages, any pronoun can be substituted for ‘X’.
Image: Piazza Armerina, Sicily, Villa Romana del Casale, Mosaic, detail. Creative Commons.
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