Украдене щастя (НАДТ)

We invite you to the performance “Stolen Happiness” – a deep and emotionally rich stage interpretation of the eponymous classic play by Ivan Franko, whose meanings remain relevant to this day. It is a story about love, choice, and inner struggle that makes you reflect on what true happiness – is and whether it can be attained without paying a high price.

A story about love that knows no peace

The plot of the play “Stolen Happiness” revolves around a complex love triangle. Anna, whom her brothers forced to marry without love, tries to come to terms with her fate alongside a kind but unloved husband, Mykola. Everything changes when Mykhailo, her former lover whom she believed dead, suddenly appears in their lives. Feelings that seemed lost ignite anew, dragging all three into a whirlpool of passion, pain, and despair.

This is a tragic story not only about love. It is about a choice that has no right answer. For every character in the play has the right to happiness, but none can obtain it without loss. The tension worthy of Shakespearean tragedies and the sense of impending horror hold the audience captive until the last moment, leaving no room for simple answers.

A new perspective on Ukrainian classics

Ivan Franko's work “Stolen Happiness” – is a recognized masterpiece of world dramaturgy, Ukrainian classic, tested by time. It has inspired dozens of directors, and in 2023 the director Yevhen Khramtsov presented his vision of this story on the NADT stage for the first time.

In his production “Stolen Happiness” goes beyond the classical love story. It is a performance about a deep inner conflict, about a person's attempt to find harmony with oneself and the world. The heroes face not only each other but also their own fears, doubts, and painful questions of faith, guilt, and the meaning of life.

The finale gains special resonance, where Mykhailo's words reveal another dimension of the story – as a tragedy of a person who could not find peace even in love. The audience is left only to ponder whether happiness can really be “stolen”, or if perhaps our greatest losses are the result of inner contradictions?