Theater in the center of Kyiv criticized for Russian songs in a performance: what Golden Gate says and why it does not violate the law

Polina Maiko, a Ukrainian blogger from the temporarily occupied Mariupol who runs the popular channel "Want to Play - Perekhochesh", was outraged that the song "Maybe the Night Will Not Chop" by Alexander Serov was used during a performance by the Golden Gate Theater. The company responded by explaining that it did so "to highlight the context of conflict and misunderstanding between generations," but refused to remove the scene from the plot.

According to the network, this practice is not a violation of the law banning Russian songs in public places. The post with the blogger's remark appeared on her X-account (formerly Twitter), and the theater's response was published on their social media.

"I went to the Golden Gate Theater. Thank you very much for the nausea during the performance. I won't go there again," the Ukrainian woman wrote, adding screenshots showing that Serov is a member of the Myrotvorets database and supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The theater's reaction was not long in coming. They explained that the choice of the song should better reveal the problems of the play and the plot.

"The songs in the play are not used for artistic decoration, but to highlight the context of conflict and misunderstanding between generations, which is one of the components of the plot. In other words, these are the words that the protagonist uses to express his nostalgia, because "he was not taught any other words. Now they demonstrate especially vividly how Russia has been reaching its tentacles through pop products, putting into minds the language through which the hero tries to convey longing, love, and remorse. On the example of Oleksandr's family, we see how the unprocessed colonial past becomes a traumatic basis for building the present," the post says.

The theater promised to add information about the use of surzhik or Russian-language fragments to the list of warnings but refused to replace or remove the scene from the performance.

"Perhaps if you watch not only the second act but also the first, the context and meanings will become clearer. But if you came to the theater only for the hype, content for your pages, entertainment, and provocations, then neither the first act nor the two acts together will fix the situation. Have a nice "trip" to the theaters of the capital," the theatergoers wrote in response to Polina Maiko's comment.

Under the post, the theater asked competent experts how legal it is to show performances with fragments of Russian songs, to which lawyer Victoria Ivanova replied: "It does not violate. In short, it is a quotation to the extent justified by the purpose and/or public performance in theater."

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