A documentary performance “Crimea, 5 AM” dedicated to the stories of political prisoners of Crimea took place in London

The performance “Crimea, 5 AM” gathered a full house at the Kiln Theater. The performance featured 11 stories based on interviews with political prisoners, journalists and their families: how the wives of political prisoners protect their homes with the support of a close-knit women’s community, and how this experience changed them and made them even stronger.

The project was initiated by the Ukrainian Institute and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine within the Crimea Platform and co-authored by Dmytro Kostiuminsky and the Dollmen Theater Company.

“5 a.m. is the time of day when dark forces can break into your home in Crimea when everyone is still sleeping, turn everything upside down and take your father, son or husband to prison. Today there are more than 140 political prisoners from Crimea, and we tell some of their stories in our project. This war started in Crimea and will end on the free Ukrainian peninsula,” said Alim Aliyev, Deputy Director General of the Ukrainian Institute, during the post-show conversation.

The cast of the play included 13 well-known personalities who read out testimonies of love and struggle in today’s Crimea. In particular, Maria Romanenko, Ukrainian journalist and writer, Alexandra Hall Hall, former British Ambassador to Georgia, Cristina Catalina, Romanian-German actress and producer, Lana Biba, Swedish-Ukrainian actress and director, Walid Elgadi, British-Sudanese actor and writer, Laura Hannah, British-Egyptian singer, actor Kalin Blo and others.

Photo – Ikin Yum