kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Penelope beats a suitor to death with shopping bags, Ulysses screams into a radio and a drone chases a soldier onto the scene. Where are we? In a daring theatrical adaptation of the Odyssey by the Ukrainian Azov Army Corps.

Published on: 01/09/2026 - 08:13

While Christopher Nolan's film adaptation is enjoying worldwide popularity, another type of staging of this epic attributed to Homer was born in kyiv from a collaboration between soldiers of the Azov army corps and the Ivan Franko theater.

“We are not doing Homer,” says Darya Legueyda, who plays Penelope. “Our Odyssey is about our heroes, even as we draw on archaic, mythical and deep themes.”

The quest to return home, the thread of the original text, resonates singularly in Ukraine where the Russian invasion mobilized hundreds of thousands of people to the front, left millions displaced and tens of thousands missing or prisoners.

The famous episodes of the adventure of Ulysses serve to tell the story of the soldiers of Azov, who went from the status of marginal fighters to symbols of national resistance, while the conflict, entering its fifth year, experienced an escalation.

Uncertainty hung over the curtain until the last minute. Russian drone attacks forced the cancellation of the premiere, which was postponed until the next day.

In this adaptation, the journey takes place on the Meotid, name of the Sea of ​​Azov in Antiquity, on the edge of which stands today Mariupol, a Ukrainian city occupied by Russia since 2022.

“A sort of myth”

It was there, in 2014, that the Azov battalion, with ultranationalist origins, collected its first laurels by retaking the city from the separatists supported by Moscow.

It was then integrated into the regular Ukrainian army and, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, its fighters were among the last to hold out during the siege of Mariupol.

“Azov is often perceived as a kind of myth,” director Ivan Ouryvsky told AFP. He says he felt "an immense responsibility" in translating this reputation onto stage.

On the stage, Ulysses negotiates with a cyclops in camouflage, a scene mirroring photographs taken during the siege of Mariupol, in which the commander of Azov, Denys Prokopenko, negotiates with a Russian fighter.

The Azov fighters eventually surrendered, thinking they would be sent home. More than four years later, many of them are still prisoners.

Moscow claims, in an argument refuted by kyiv and its allies, that its invasion aims to "denazify" Ukraine, relying in particular on mock trials of soldiers highlighting Azov's far-right origins - which the unit denies.

In Ukraine, the slogan “Free Azov” is omnipresent, even on the facade of the Ivan Franko Theater.

- "People who love Ukraine" -

Proceeds from the play go to an organization supporting prisoners of war.

Among the public, Azov is best viewed with respect for his effectiveness at the front and for being among the first to fight pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

“These are people who really love Ukraine and are fighting for it,” says Tetyana Osypovych, a 51-year-old spectator.

The performance made her relive “the whole spectrum of terrible emotions” felt by Ukrainians, she said, with tears in her eyes.

Azov's Odyssey is punctuated by distressing music with heavy bass accents, including the melody of Kalinka, a popular Russian folk song.

During his confrontation with the dead, another significant episode of the Odyssey, Ulysses evokes his feeling of guilt for not having repatriated Elpenor's body.

A pain familiar to Ukrainian soldiers, including the main actor, Danylo Mireshkin, who serves in Azov.

- Not necessarily a happy ending -

“That was the most difficult: reliving this experience again and again,” he told AFP. “It is a sacred duty: always to recover the injured, those who have fallen. But this is not always possible.”

Many Ukrainians without news of their loved ones face a heartbreaking choice: wait or grieve.

The Penelope of the myth never abandons her loyalty to Ulysses, but the actress Darya Legueyda refuses any injunction.

“We don’t know how we should cope, whether we should continue to wait or not,” she says.

The curtain falls without us knowing if Ulysses has managed to return.

“Maybe we won’t have a happy ending in the classic sense,” continues Ms. Legueyda.

"And maybe we should talk about it. And cry about it. And get on with our lives."

© 2026 AFP

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