When Women Speak of War:
Artists Reckon with Wars Declared and Hidden
Thursday 28 April
When Women Speak of War ‘they say nothing or almost nothing of what we are used to reading and hearing about’.
These words from Ukraine-born giant of testimonial literature Svetlana Alexievich spurred our event into existence. When Women Speak of War what they make visible, what they make us see and hear anew, are worlds away from narrow conceptions of war that erase the suffering and survival of many.
In solidarity with Ukraine, FOJAM’s (Festival of Jewish Arts and Music) last event When Women Speak of War : Artists Reckon with Wars Declared and Hidden, musicians, writers and performers grappled with how we commemorate and memorialise the Holocaust, genocide and war in a theatrical collaboration at The National Theatre in St Kilda, Melbourne on the lands of the Yalukit-Willam Clan on Boon Wurrung Country.
Together with Ukrainian-Jewish-Australian writer and cultural historian Maria Tumarkin, who was born and raised in Kharkiv, we brought a show that refused the jingoistic, the sentimental, and the officially sanctioned ways of witnessing and remembering wars.
Conceived of well before the invasion of Ukraine, the event became an act of resistance: to the annihilation of nations, cultures, peoples with unique histories, but also to ideology, cynicism, compassion fatigue and dehumanisation in its many guises. With a palpable sense of urgency, a line-up of outstanding artists grappled with the trauma of genocide and war across distinct but deeply interrelated contexts.
This world premiere show invited artists to share newly devised work as well as reignite poems, songs and stories of the past - including new collaborations featuring spoken word, Sephardic Jewish Romance music with contemporary writing, folk music with cellist accompaniment, classical Ukrainian folksongs, original music by a local hip hop artist, Yiddish folk music with contemporary writing and multimedia projections with the traditional sounds of Sevdah (a genre of folk music originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina) as well as an iconic Hebrew song and the poetry of Yevgeny Yevtushenko.
‘Women’s war has its own colours, odours, its own lighting, its own sentient space. Its own words. No heroes, no extraordinary feats, only people busy with the inhuman human task. And it’s not only they (people!) who suffer, but the earth, and the birds, and the trees. All that lives on earth with us.’
– The War’s Unwomanly Face, Svetlana Alexievich
“We conceived of this show well before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Those months ago the genocidal violence unleashed on Ukrainian civilians was impossible to imagine. Now we’re witnessing daily war crimes powered by the Putin regime’s long-haul (dis)information war that has succeeded in zombifying millions within Russia itself. A devastating lesson to those of us who would like to think wars belong safely to the past. Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta and the 2021 Nobel Peace laureate, called propaganda a form of radiation. It’s artists who help their societies develop strong antidotes to radiation of this kind by making us reckon with what wars do, how they get made and what they leave behind. Australia doesn’t get to sit this one out. I’m intensely proud of this event that feels more necessary than ever.”
– Maria Tumarkin, Co-Curator
“It’s been an incredible privilege to collaborate with Maria Tumarkin, a fearless artist who goes where others may not dare. At a time when people are fighting for their freedom, it feels vital to create a space for artists to connect with audiences through art and music.”
– Lior Albeck-Ripka, FOJAM Artistic Director
Co-curated by Maria Tumarkin
Directed by Virginia Proud
Commissioned by FOJAM
FEATURING: Victoria Bilogan; Tony Birch; Alex Burkoy; Elise Hearst; Anita Lester; Emily Lubitz; Evelyn Krape; Sarah Krasnostein; Saray Iluminado Femme; Rita Satch; Nela Trifkovic; Billie Tumarkin; Maria Tumarkin; Jacki Tut and Dzenana Vucic.
When Women Speak of War contains depictions and references to genocide, violence, sexual violence, racial abuse and war. Recommended for ages 15+
$5 from each ticket was donated to Ukraine Crisis Appeal
This work was created on the lands of the Kulin Nations. We pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging and acknowledge that Australia was built on the stolen lands of First Nations People whose cultures and traditions have survived despite the ongoing violence of settler colonialism.
ARTIST LINE-UP:
MARIA TURMARKIN
CO-CURATOR
Maria Tumarkin was born and raised in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Her homeland is right now fighting for its survival following Russia’s invasion and criminal targeting of civilians. Maria writes books, essays, reviews, and pieces for performance and radio; she collaborates with sound and visual artists and has had her work carved into dockside tiles. She is the author of four books of ideas. Her fourth (and latest) book Axiomatic won the 2018 Melbourne Prize for Literature and was named a New Yorker Top 10 Book of 2019. Maria is a recipient of the 2020 Windham Campbell Prize in the category of nonfiction. She holds a PhD in cultural history and teaches in the creative writing program at the University of Melbourne. Glory to Ukraine.
VIRGINIA PROUD
DIRECTOR
Virginia Proud has worked as a director, playwright, dramaturg and actor since 2005. Between 2009-2019, her practice was based in Europe, primarily in Budapest, where she was co-founder of the international theatre collaboration, Budapest English Theatre (BET), and its Producing Artistic Director from 2012 to 2016. Virginia is completing her Masters of Theatre (Directing) at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2022. She was most recently assistant director for the critically acclaimed Yentl, for Kadimah Yiddish Theatre, at the Arts Centre Melbourne in March 2022.
Dzenana Vucic
Dženana Vucic is a Bosnian-Australian writer, poet and critic. She has received the 2022 Peter Blazey Fellowship, the 2021 Kat Muscat Fellowship and a 2020-21 Wheeler Centre Hot Desk Fellowship to work on an autotheoretical book about her experience as a refugee, the Bosnian war, identity, memory and un/belonging. Her writing has appeared in Cordite, Overland, Meanjin, Kill Your Darlings, Australian Poetry Journal, the Australian Multilingual Writing Project, Rabbit, and others.
Tony Birch
Tony Birch is a founding member of the Melbourne School of Discontent. He has published three novels; The White Girl, Ghost River and Blood. He is also the author of Shadowboxing and three short story collections, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People. In 2017 he was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award for his contribution to Australian literature. In 2021 he released two new books, a poetry book, Whisper Songs and a new short story collection, Dark As Last Night. His website is: tony-birch.com.
Alex Burkoy
Virtuosic strings player Alex Burkoy has been playing violin, mandolin, guitar and bass since before anyone can remember. He graduated from NMIT in 2006 and was accepted into the VCA to study bass in 2007. Alex has toured nationally and internationally with Tinpan Orange, Julia Stone, Felix Reibl, and YID! To name a few. Alexhas been a guest musician with bands such as The Cat Empire, Mama Kin and Monsieur Camembert.
ELISE HEARST
Elise is a Melbourne-based playwright and author, working and living on Boon Wurrung country. Elise trained in London at the Royal Court Theatre and her plays include Bright World, co-written with Andrea James (Theatreworks), The Mesh (Red Stitch) and The Sea Project (Griffin Theatre) which was shortlisted for the Griffin Award. From 2019-2020 Elise was a resident playwright at the Melbourne Theatre Company. Most recently Elise was a co-writer on Yentl, produced by Kadimah Theatre. Elise’s first novel will be published in 2023 by Harper Collins.
EVELYN KRAPE
Evelyn Krape is Artistic Co-Director of Kadimah Yiddish Theatre (KYT.) She is an Australian acting icon, with more than 30 years’ experience in theatre, film and television and has won numerous awards and honours. Her theatre credits include Melbourne Theatre Company, Playbox, 11th Hour, Victoria Opera Company, the Malthouse and Shakespeare in the Park. Her television and film appearances include Australia You’re Standing In It, Flying Doctors, Blue Heelers, and Laid, Dimboola, The Sound of One Hand Clapping and Babe 1&2. She has just completed a highly successful season of Yentl for KYT at The Arts Centre Melbourne. Evelyn Krape appears courtesy of Kadimah Yiddish Theatre.
Anita Lester
Anita Lester is a Melbourne based multi-disciplinary artist. Having spent years touring the world with rock outfit ‘Lester The Fierce’, in March 2020, Anita released her debut solo EP ‘Erato’. Anita has quietly established herself as a force in not only music, but visual art, literature and award winning film maker. Anita is also an accomplished poet and storyteller with her work appearing in over a dozen books. Her musical release ’Erato’ is also accompanied by a book of poetry, including the widely publicised ‘Ode to Oz’. Though there are many facets to Anita Lester’s art practice, it is all grounded in a unique storytelling style that has a red thread woven throughout with links to death, sex, love, longing, slavery and spirituality. In June 2021, Anita released the single ‘Sun and moon and stars’, produced by legendary Australian troubadours, Husky.
EMILY LUBITZ
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As aloof as she is transcendent, Emily Lubitz is a classic siren, her ethereal vocal much celebrated as the call of Tinpan Orange, the critically acclaimed indie-folk outfit she has fronted for more than a decade. Stepping out as a solo artist, Lubitz brings her songwriting craft to new heights, dealing in the grand old themes of love and loss as she explores a darkly romantic vision of the world. In the live arena, Lubitz plays with a trio of women from the Byron Shire, her brushed velvet vocal at the core. She unearths a lyrical rawness that delves into a life less ordinary alongside the rough-cut diamonds of the everyday. Standing six feet tall, she holds the audience in the palm of her hand.
Sarah Krasnostein
Sarah Krasnostein is a multi-award winning writer and researcher. She is the author of The Trauma Cleaner, The Believer and the Quarterly Essay, Not Waving, Drowning. Her work appears in publications in Australia, America and the UK. She has a doctorate in criminal law.
Nela Trifkovic
Nela Trifkovic is a Bosnian- Australian musician and performance maker. Since 2013, she has been the Artistic Director and singer in the ensemble Saray Iluminado.
Nela has worked as a composer, music director and a performer in independent Australian and international theatre. Nela has been working with Dr Eli Tauber and Mrs Mirjam Tauber from the Bosnian Sephardic Jewish community of Sarajevo. Their multi-disciplinary presentation "THE SARAJEVO HAGGADAH" is to be presented later in 2022.
Rita Satch
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Rita Satch is fast becoming an unforgettable presence in Australia’s music scene. Rita has a powerful voice that transcends time. Satch has toured Australia and the world, with some of her notable performances include Glastonbury Festival (UK), Cheltenham Jazz Festival (UK), St Kilda Festival, Melbourne International Jazz Festival & Kensington Palace (UK). A finalist in the prestigious 2020 National Jazz Awards, Rita has released 2 EP’s and has received accolades for her songwriting (winner of Unsigned Only Music competition (2015), finalist in the International Songwriting Competition (2015). She is currently working on her debut full length album, due to be released in 2023.
Billie Tumarkin
Billie Tumarkin is a Ukrainian–Jewish–Australian singer. She is a performer of more than five centuries of songs in as many languages as she can muster. She was trained in classical voice at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.
