Interview with Independent Theatre Gas founders: Sofia Onishchenko, Daria Bohdan, Vasylyna Martseniuk

The Independent GAS Theatre was founded in 2022 by three actresses – Sofia Onishchenko, Daria Bogdan and Vasylyna Martseniuk – who were forced to emigrate to Poland due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The theatre's name is inspired by a play by Les Kurbas, a Ukrainian director and theatre reformer who worked during the ‘Shooting Renaissance’ of the 1920s and 1930s. Entitled Gaz, the play premiered exactly 100 years ago in 1923. Its title refers to the abundant oil and gas reserves in eastern Ukraine, particularly in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions, which were a key factor in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. During its three years of activity, the theatre has created six performances: History of Ukraine (2022), LALKA-SHOW (2022), Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring Again (2023), Tomorrow 10 Years Ago (2024), Anthology (2024) and Sweet and Sour (2025). The theatre has also staged several street performances, including 'With Thoughts of All Those Who Were Forced to Leave Their Homes' (2022), 'Endless Dance' (2023), and 'MAJDAN: Ukrainian Re-creations'. From the 'revolution on granite' to the 'revolution of dignity', as well as performative readings including 'The Earth is Blue Like an Orange'. This interview was conducted at the Jagiellonian University as part of a research project funded by the National Science Centre No. 2024/53/B/HS2/02533 entitled 'Theatre as a Laboratory for Polish-Ukrainian encounters from 2014 to the present day. Perspectives of compassionate thinking. The file has been archived on the RODBUK platform with the signature: