The history of the Mariupol Puppet Theater began with a small office in a TV tower
In 1995, the theater was founded by Iryna Rudenko. For many years, the theater worked in atypical conditions: in the office of the TV tower, the arcade of the city park, the construction workersʼ dormitory, a former furniture store, as well as in the house and garage of the director herself. Once the theater premises completely burned down, another time the team was evicted, leaving them with nothing.
Despite constant “runs” and problems with rent, the theater never closed. For the teenagers who came here, it was almost like psychotherapy. Some crossed its threshold at a very young age.
“We learned not from our mistakes, but from the mistakes of the main characters in the plays,” says 18-year-old Diana Klymenko.
She joined the theater at the age of three. Less than a year later, she was already reciting long monologues on stage. Two years later, also at the age of three, her younger sister Marianna Klymenko joined the theater.
It was not just a theater, but Iryna Rudenkoʼs creative home. She knew everything about each young actor, was a part of their lives.
"Iryna Anatoliivna is like my second mother. I loved her madly: she accepted all my shortcomings and helped me overcome my complexes," says 16-year-old Marianna Klymenko.
In the center is the head of the Mariupol Puppet Theater Iryna Rudenko.
Маріупольський Театр Ляльок
Anna Pracheva also came to the theater at the age of three. “I used to be criticized for saying from childhood that I would be an actress, not a doctor!” recalls Anna.
“But Iryna instilled in me such a love for the theater that I wanted to connect my whole life with it,” Now Ani is sixteen.
In 2022, the theater gathered about 800 spectators every month and had about thirty performances in its repertoire. One of its calling cards was “Alice Through the Looking Glass”. Every year it was shown on the main stage of the Mariupol Drama Theater — and every time the hall was packed.
“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” also won no less love from the audience. Offstage, there was always intrigue among the actresses — who would play the main character this time, in the end it was decided between them. Rehearsals could last almost non-stop — from nine in the morning to midnight, but the actors enjoyed it.
The performance "Alice Through the Looking Glass".
Маріупольський Театр Ляльок
The theater was constantly short of money, and in 2019 it almost closed: the rental rate for the premises was sharply raised. Iryna Rudenko appealed to the city authorities, but there was no answer for a long time. Then the theater actors, their parents, and some townspeople went to rallies — almost a hundred people gathered.
After this “uprising”, the theater received new premises in the “Molodizhny” Palace of Culture for the symbolic sum of one hryvnia per year, and the team’s “runaways” finally ended.
Roman Rudenko, an actor and son of the director, calls 2021-2022 the happiest times for the theater.
“The theater had its own building, a foreign director came and took care of everything. The children studied at a theater school and at the same time played in puppet theater performances. Everything was in full swing,” says Roman. He himself began acting in the theater at the age of 13, and later became a teacher and his mother’s right hand.
In 2021, Mariupol hosted “GogolFest”. During the festival, Greek director Evangelos Kosmidis came to the theater and began working with the troupe on the play.
“I found myself in a country I had never been to before. I knew about the events of 2014, about Maidan and Crimea, but I had no idea that I was going to a war zone, where in order to get into the city you had to cross internal borders and show your passport,” says Evan.
Ahead of the premiere of "Alaska" in the fall of 2021. On the right in the photo is Evangelos Kosmidis.
Український культурний фонд
Evan Kosmidis, together with the Mariupol Puppet Theater, created the play "Alaska". It tells the story of teenagers from Mariupol, whom the war forced to grow up prematurely.
The characters were portrayed from real Mariupol teenagers — for this, each actor filled out a questionnaire where he told about himself. The plot revolved around the main character Stefania, or “Alaska”, — a girl who was forced to move from Kyiv to Mariupol and faced bullying at school.
Alaska was first shown on the big stage in December 2021. The production impressed Iryna Rudenko, and she invited the Greek director to become the artistic director of the theater. He agreed. The team was already planning a tour of Ukraine, which was to end with a performance at “GogolFest” in Kyiv in August 2022. But the play was shown only twice.
"Alaska" premieres in fall 2021.
Маріупольський Театр Ляльок
Spring 2022 — a Russian strike destroys the theater building, and the team disperses around the world
In March 2022, almost the entire theater team found themselves under siege. Among them was the director Iryna Rudenko. At that time, she had been battling oncology for several years, but continued to manage the theater.
“The first three days of the war were calm. Then the connection disappeared. Only two weeks later I found out that everyone was alive. Mom and other family members were sitting in basements, and then moved to Melekino, ten kilometers from Mariupol, where there was water, electricity, and at least some security,” recalls her son Roman, who was in Kyiv at the time.
Iryna Rudenko felt worse and worse, but she called the actors and offered help. In May, she was evacuated to the Donetsk Cancer Center for chemotherapy, which she was supposed to undergo in the winter. It was too late — her body could not stand it, and on May 28, 2022, Iryna Rudenko died.
The Mariupol Puppet Theater formally took a break, but in fact it disintegrated. The actors left. Some stayed in Mariupol, some went to Russia, some to Europe or America.
The Palace of Culture "Youth", which became the home of the Mariupol Puppet Theater; Thatʼs how it looks today.
Анатолій Кінащук
The people of Mariupol had to survive first, first in their own city, then in a foreign one. Despite everything that was happening around them, the actors thought about their theater.
“I was terrified by the thought that I would never return to the theater. Once, my father came and said that the [Mariupol] Drama Theater [where the puppet theater gave performances] was gone. I begged him to check if our theater had survived, although it was very dangerous. Of course, my father did not leave. I lived with these thoughts until I left the city. Then I saw a photo — the theater was gone, everything was black,” recalls Anna Pracheva.
The family of the Klymenko sisters, Diana and Marianna, left their apartment on the eve of February 24 for a safer area on the outskirts of the city. Later, their home was destroyed.
“It was incredibly scary. My family was nearby, but the theater and all my friends stayed there. I heard missiles flying to Mariupol, because there was a Russian military camp on our side,” Marianna recalls.
In mid-March, the family evacuated to friends in Odesa, and a month later moved on to Germany.
The story of Anna Pracheva’s family was a little different. They left Mariupol for the occupied territory in a foot column at the end of March. First the children went, then the adults. Anna went with her six-year-old brother.
“We got to the bus in a column and went to Volodarsk [in Russia]. We were told that a woman had been killed in the column — the mother of a teenager who was walking next to us,” she recalls. Anna’s family then left for Europe, changed several countries, and eventually settled in Austria, in Vienna.
Each of the girls tried to find herself in a new country, looking for something “stable”. For both of them, it was theater. Anna Pracheva tried to play at the Melpomene Theater in Dubai, but quickly realized that it was not at all what she was used to in Mariupol.
Marianna Klymenko tried to live a normal teenage life, hoping that even without the stage she would remain an actress. Her sister Diana also could not find herself: German teenagers were not as interested in theater as they were in Ukraine, and did not want to be friends with her.
In the fall of 2022, with the support of donors, Evan Kosmidis revived the play "Alaska". He included in the production those actors who had settled in Europe. The first performance was dedicated to the memory of Iryna Rudenko — the play was shown in Berlin. Then silence fell again.
The “Alaska” team at rehearsal. Evangelos Kosmidis in the center.
Едуард Ляшенко
Evan was inspired by the reaction of the Berlin audience. He had promised Iryna Rudenko that he would save the theater, so he sought funding. He eventually won a grant from Perform Europe, and with that money the company performed Alaska three times in 2025 — in Poland, Bosnia, and Hungary.
“I gave Iryna my word before she died that I wouldn’t give up. And I won’t give up. She entrusted me with the legacy of her life,” Evan says.
In 2025, the theater comes to life in emigration and shows Europe the stories of Mariupol teenagers
It was impossible to restore the original cast of "Alaska". Some of the actors remained in the occupation, some were physically not ready for the acting schedule. The team changed, new actors came, and some of the old cast returned to new roles. This is what happened to Maria Boyko from Mariupol.
Before the war, she played in the theater for a year, and then became Evan Kosmidisʼ right-hand man. When the director began to restore the theater, Maria was among the first to join and was given the main role — Stefania. The actress who played Stefania before the war now lives in the occupation.
The screenings of "Alaska" are already during a full-scale war. In the pic — Maria Boyko.
Едуард Ляшенко
The script of the production has changed. Now the main character flees to Europe, and the actors talk about their experiences of war and emigration. Special attention was paid to bullying. Teenagers end up in a new school with a different culture and mentality — something that Mariupol residents experienced firsthand.
Diana Klymenko plays the role of Stefaniaʼs best friend. In emigration, she experienced indirect, but bullying, which is central to the play.
“German teenagers made fun of me because of my language. It wasnʼt friendly, it was intentional,” says Diana Klymenko.
Anna Pracheva adds that each character in "Alaska" has something in common with her and the other actors: "When I listened to Stefaniaʼs monologue, I remembered myself after leaving Mariupol: then I sat in the corner, quietly crying and asking myself, why is this happening to me?"
The play shows violence and difficult scenes: rape, nudity, drug and alcohol use, and it also touches on the topic of suicide. Some texts are spoken in Russian. In order not to traumatize the actors, the team includes a trauma therapy specialist.
“The death scenes have always been the most difficult for me. Over time, the wounds heal, and it stops being so scary. But still, after every performance, I cry,” shares Marianna Klymenko.
The theaterʼs life is now in Europe, and its return to Ukraine remains uncertain.
The theaterʼs directors and actors have different plans for the future. "Weʼll restore the theater in about five years. I donʼt know where it will be. It could be Germany, Austria, Poland, or even Ukraine," says Roman Rudenko.
[The "Alaska" and the puppet theater team are currently working on a new theater, led by Evan Kosmidis, and this team cannot yet confirm Romanʼs words.]
Roman Rudenko in the play "Alaska".
Едуард Ляшенко
It will be difficult for young actors to return to Ukraine. In 2022, they were teenagers. In Europe, they are studying in new schools, some have entered university or found a job. Most left Ukraine with families who do not plan to return home. There is one reason: their home is Mariupol, and it is impossible to return there.
Klymenko sisters have almost no relatives left in Ukraine — everyone evacuated, and they havenʼt been back to the country since. For them, Ukraine remains the way they saw it when they were 12 and 14 years old.
"I wonʼt return home anymore, because my home was in Mariupol. Ukraine then and now are completely different. Maybe after university, if itʼs stable and peaceful, Iʼll return. But now I see my life here, in Germany," says Diana Klymenko.
Sisters Diana and Marianna Klymenko act in the play.
Ганна Клочко
“My life is now in Germany, and I don’t have the support I had before. In Mariupol, everything seemed simpler: I knew that I would study in Kyiv, at the best university, and have the support of the theater. Now I have to choose a profession that will provide a stable income, not just joy. If the war ends, I will most likely stay in Germany. It will be difficult in Ukraine after the war, and even more so for an actor,” adds Marianna Klymenko.
The biggest problem for the theater remains funding. “The Drama Theater in Uzhhorod or private theaters in Kyiv have state support, their own premises, rehearsal spaces, and ready-made sets,” explains Maria Boyko.
The situation is more complicated at the Mariupol Theater. The team is scattered across different countries in Europe, and everyone only gets together before performances. The actors work to earn a living, so rehearsals take place at an accelerated pace — from morning to evening, after which they immediately go on stage.
Despite this, Evan Kosmidis is determined to fight for the theaterʼs existence. Now it has a new name — Mariupol Puppet Theater in Exile.
Mariupol Theater in Europe.
Ганна Клочко