Bonjour Mark,

We have an exciting slate of projects lined up for this fall and early winter of 2024. Today, we'd like to tell you about the first! It's the world premiere of a new play which we commissioned from Ukrainian playwright Andriy Bondarenko, "Ghost Land."

We featured two of Andriy’s plays in the two readings we’ve done so far as part of the Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings project: “Survivor’s Syndrome,” and, most recently, “Snuff Films.”

He is a very talented young playwright who is writing very powerfully about the nightmare experiences that the Ukrainian people have been enduring since Russia’s brutal war began, not just the full-scale invasion last year in February, but going back to 2014 and the illegal annexation of Crimea and the attacks on the Donbas.

Earlier this year we approached him about writing a play specifically for City Garage about the war and it human costs. Just a few weeks ago, we received his final draft and are in rehearsal now. Follow this link to buy tickets and/or make an additional donation:

Buy Tickets for "Ghost Land"

The play is made up of three different stories. The first, is the story of a soldier dealing with the combat trauma he endured at the front; the second, about a family trapped in the war zone, whose home is invaded by a pair of a barbaric Russian soldiers; the third, of a young woman who has survived a Russian torture chamber.

The brutal reality of the war is mixed with fictional and even mystical ideas about suffering, violence, idealism, and the hunger for peace. Despite the grim material, it works in a dream-like, hallucinatory way that is poetic, powerful, and hauntingly beautiful.

We hope you will join us for opening weekend. There will be a Champagne preview on Friday, September 8th at 8:00pm, with an opening night celebration on Saturday, September 9th with a Ukrainian-themed buffet.

It is possible that Andriy will be able to travel from Ukraine to be with us and to be part of a special Q&A after the first Sunday show on September 10th at 4:00pm (we'll keep you posted).

You don’t want to miss this special, world-premiere event. Make your reservations now, and please consider making an additional donation to our fall fundraising campaign. We have several new grants to match: from the City for Santa Monica, and from the County of Los Angeles.

You, the audience, is what makes the work possible at City Garage and helps us to continue.

Merci, and see you at the theatre!

Love,

FM

Buy Tickets for "Ghost Land"