Spindrift Theatre will present Sasha Denisova’s extraordinary new play about love and
resilience set against the backdrop of war in Kyiv, Ukraine, called My Mama and the Full Scale
Invasion.
Sasha’s mother, Olga, has lived in Kyiv her entire life. When the full-scale invasion of the
country begins, she is thrust into fantastical situations that reflect on Ukraine’s history as a pawn
in a series of wars. A memory play, Sasha tells the story of what here mother experiences in
part, through her own recollections of family life, but also, through Mama’s fantasies of what
she, a Kyivian octogenarian, can do to survive “the Putin’s war.”
The production is Directed by the award-winning director, Robert Freedman. The play is being
produced with permission of the playwright and with talents of three actors: Laura Nichols of
Rockville, CT., as Sasha, Liam Bobersky of Florence, MA. as Man, and Jaris Hanson* of
Whately, MA. as Mama.
Peter Marks of The Washington Post described the World Premiere of the play at the Woolly
Mammoth Theater Company in Washington DC. as “A study in the wonderful absurdity of a
stubbornly resistant woman under fire.” But the play is much more than that. It is a snapshot of
the present, with political connections, strategies, and the faces of real people who are forced to
live under the most extreme conditions of war. It is also a story of a mother and daughter who
have a contentious history, but a deeply loving bond.
CONTENT TRANSPARENCY
The play reflects Ukraine’s history of Russian and Nazi Germany’s military force and reminds us
that Ukraine was occupied in WWII and took the brunt of the fallout from the Chernobyl Nuclear
Disaster. There are discussions of famine, military force, guns, bombs, radiation sickness, and
PTSD. The play, using both humor and history to focus on the absurdity of war uses profanity
and epithets, while commenting on today’s social and political challenges. Patrons should be
aware the play employs the sound and lighting effects that simulate explosions, gun shots, and
bombs. Flashing lights and the use of fake cigarettes are used.
My Mama and the Full Scale Invasion will be presented at the Workroom Theater, 33 Hawley
Street, Northampton, MA, August 22, 23, 24 at 7 pm, and August 25, at 2 pm. Tickets are
$24 for students and seniors, $26 general admission. Tickets can by purchased online at
www..bit.ly/fullscaleinvasion
