Serhiy Zhadan’s A Harvest Truce is a darkly comic yet deeply moving drama set in a small town in eastern Ukraine during a fragile ceasefire in the ongoing war. Two estranged brothers reunite after their mother’s death, only to discover that the destroyed bridge separating their town from the outside world makes it nearly impossible to transport her body for burial. Trapped together in the ruined landscape of a frontline community, the brothers navigate bureaucracy, broken infrastructure, and their own unresolved resentments while waiting for authorities to help. As absurd logistical challenges collide with grief and memory, the play explores family, masculinity, and the surreal normalization of war. Through humor and sharp dialogue, Zhadan reveals how ordinary life continues, even in the shadow of violence and uncertainty.
Serhiy Zhadan is an award-winning Ukrainian poet and writer, translator, performer, and activist. He is one of the best-known and globally most recognized Ukrainian cultural figures today. Born in the Voroshylovhrad (now Luhansk) Oblast, he studied Ukrainian and German literatures in Kharkiv where he lives and has been teaching since 2000. His numerous literary and cultural awards include Book of the Year (Ukraine; 2001, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2022), BBC Ukraine Book of the Year (2006, 2010, and 2014), Hubert Burda Prize (Germany, 2006), Joseph Conrad-Korzeniowski Literary Award (Poland-Ukraine, 2009), Brücke Berlin Prize (Germany, 2014), Jan Michalski Prize for Literature (Switzerland, 2014), Angelus Central European Literature Award (Poland, 2015), Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry (USA, 2021), and many others.
Director: Danilo Gambini
Danilo Gambini is a director and producer originally from São Paulo, Brazil. Recent directing credits include: A Case for The Existence of God by Samuel D. Hunter at Mosaic Theater; Wipeout by Aurora Real de Asua and The Heart Sellers by Lloyd Suh at Studio Theatre; the world premiere of Ni Mi Madre at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (OBIE Award Winner, Drama Desk Nomination, NYT Critics Pick); and The Rake’s Progress and Iolanta at Yale Opera. His
production of Agreste (Drylands) at Spooky Action Theater received six Helen Hayes Awards Nominations, including Outstanding Director. Other credits include: the world premiere of the musical Sabina at Portland Stage Maine; Fun Home, The Tempest, Rock Egg Spoon at the Yale School of Drama; and Agreste (Drylands), Bakkhai, The Swallow and the Tomcat, and Truck at Yale Cabaret. Operas include Don Giovanni, Ariadne auf Naxos, Eugene Onegin at Theatro São Pedro. He has held the positions of Associate Artistic Director at Studio Theatre, Associate Artistic Director at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, and Co-Artistic Director at Yale Summer Cabaret. He is a member of Roundabout Theatre’s Directors Group, Immigrant Theatermakers Advocates, and Theatre Producers of Color. He has developed work at The Public Theater,
Joe’s Pub, The Old Globe, LaJolla Playhouse, Ars Nova, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Chautauqua Opera, Gulfshore Playhouse, LatinX Playwrights Circle, amongst others. Danilo holds an MFA in Directing from the Yale School of Drama, a BFA in Film and Television and an artist diploma as an actor from the School of Dramatic Art, both at the University of São Paulo.
danilogambini.com
Stage Manager: Cricket Withall
Cast: Sebastián Arroyo, Brandon Burton, Florencia Lozano, Sarah Lyddan, Daniel Mazzarolo, Adam Shaukat, Devin White
