THE CULTURAL HERITAGE REVITALISATION AS A TOOL FOR THE FORMATION OF PUBLIC IDENTITY (THEATRICAL DIMENSION OF 2023–2024)

Abstract

According to the conceptual model of hybrid threats by European researchers, the preservation of national identity and heritage are key elements of the cultural domain. An effective way to counter hybrid challenges in the sociocultural sphere is to build civic resilience through the interaction of different levels of community functioning by means of governance, social communications and cultural practices. Since the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraine has adopted two documents that emphasise the importance of protecting these aspects, namely: The Law of Ukraine «On the Basic Principles of State Policy in the Field of Strengthening Ukrainian National and Civil Identity» in 2022 and the Strategy for Strengthening Ukrainian National and Civil Identity until 2030 in December 2023. The main instruments of identity formation are the academic environment, education and cultural practices, including everyday culture and art. The article is devoted to the analysis of attempts to revise and revitalise cultural narratives on the example of the performing arts, namely the theatre space. The research focuses on the coverage of existential meanings in performances that premiered after the full-scale Russian invasion, in particular in 2023 and 2024. The main forms, chosen for analysis, are a drama (The Variety Theatre «Sharge»), a ballet (The Lviv National Opera), and an opera (The National Operetta of Ukraine). The article uses the example of the plays «The Fruit of His Self», «Shadows of the Forgotten Ancestors», and «On the Mermaid Easter» to reveal such trends as the exposure of a forbidden or «alienated» culture, the process of liberation from the colonial vision of Ukrainian images and its peripheral positioning, and the synergy of classical images with contemporary contexts – mermaids, dolls, the categories of «love», «heroic», «being», and cognition.