A basement in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. Voices can be heard coming from a radio somewhere, reporting on the political situation, the chances of victory in battle, and patriotic duties. Sasha and Alexandra, both seventeen years old, are hiding here. It is pitch dark. They search for matches among old junk but find none. Under different circumstances, this would be the beginning of a youthful love story, but in Yevgenia Belorusets' first play to be published in German, the state of emergency that has gripped her homeland since Russia's first wave of attacks more than ten years ago prevails.
In three acts, Matches tells of the search for a way out, of the human tragedy of a chance encounter with hope in a basement, and of the necessity of always and everywhere stockpiling matches, which cannot save you from being completely engulfed by war.
“Belorusets’s stories work their way under your skin.” – The Times Literary Supplement on Lucky Breaks
Awards
Women of Europe Award 2023Play
Sample translation
Russian original available
Yevgenia Belorusets is a Ukrainian photographer, artist and writer who lives between Kyiv and Berlin. She is concerned with the intersections of art, media and society, and involved in a number of cultural and political initiatives. Her first book Lucky Breaks (2019) has been critically acclaimed and translated in 10 languages. Most recently published by Matthes & Seitz Berlin: Modern Animal (2024).
