Myna Mazailo. Pathetic Sonata. Mykola Kulish

Mykola Kulish is a writer and playwright, author of the plays “Myna Mazailo”, “Narodnyi Malakhii”, “Pathetic Sonata” and “Maklena Hrasa”.
In “Pathetic Sonata” a peculiar panorama of the Ukrainian revolution unfolds. Kulish concentrates the action within the walls of a house: on the second floor lives General Perotskyi, a conqueror who hates everything Ukrainian, a Russian tricolor hangs from his window. On the first floor lives a teacher of calligraphy with his daughter Marina. The girl plays Beethoven’s piano and prepares an uprising that should overthrow the Bolshevik government. And while Marina acts, the romantic Ilko, who is in love with her, doubts which path to choose.
In the play “Myna Mazailo”, Kulish talks about similar themes, although he approaches it from a different angle. Law-abiding official Myna Mazailo was given all the possible troubles caused by his "Little Russian" surname... And an attempt to change it split the family into two hostile camps. Thus, it would seem that at first glance, a family dispute is growing into a global problem of self-identification and national-cultural identity.