About the Show

Codename Othello (English) Saturday 2nd May, 6pm - York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium Sunday 3rd May, 2pm - York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium This show is part of a double bill programme, presenting Codename Othello by Olga Annenko in both its original Ukrainian and its translation to English by Daria Moskvitina, which was produced for YISF in 2025. Tickets to the individual performances are £15 each, but if purchasing each show together, the combined price is £20. £15 Standard £15 Pass It On! (purchase a ticket for a member of our refugee and asylum seeker community who would otherwise be unable to attend this event) £5 Student (available for students with a valid ID card) £20 Double Bill **All tickets purchased online come with a 10% processing charge. Tickets purchased in person are not subject to this charge but availability of tickets is not guaranteed. Running time is 75 minutes without an interval Codename Othello is a reworking of Shakespeare’s story, from a current perspective. Olga says of the play: “If we talk about the importance of this project for me, then, in short, it is an opportunity to talk about war and some of its hidden manifestations, such as PTSD and other psychological disorders. All this, as well as the complexity of the ordinary world, with its tricks, makes the life of a person who has returned from war impossible and unhappy.” Finalist of the 3rd Ukrainian directorial work competition: Another Othello for the Kyiv National Operetta Theatre (2020), this play started as a one scene springboard that explores the impact of the ongoing war on Ukrainians. This first scene, when Nicoleta Cinpoeş came across it, was so raw and rich in theatrical vision and potential that it sparked not only our interest but also the quest for the author and commitment to see the project through. For last year’s festival, with the generous help of translator Daria Moskvitina, based in Zaporizhzhia, and a Sunday afternoon online meeting, we moved from a fragment and a dream to meeting Olga and rekindling her creative buzz to complete the play in a few weeks, so Daria has time to translate it for the world premiere in 2025. Now YISF presents the English translation in full production, alongside the original script in Ukrainian, being presented by Frankivsk Drama Theatre (Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine).