No Translation For This: Celebrating Eastern European Voices, performed by Eastern European artists now based in the UK, explores themes of migration, identity and cultural memory. Devised multidisciplinary performances, made up of original monologues, traditional song, movement pieces and translated poems, run as a continuous unified narrative.
Each work draws from lived experience, examining how individuals navigate life between cultures and across borders.
Exploring Migration and Identity Through Devised Theatre
The audience takes their seats as the space is still being swept and cleaned. It is not until all four performers, Maria Stana, Barbara Dunin, Dariia Kuznetsova and Ena Begovic, have joined that a realisation sets in that the show has already begun—a subtle nod to the way Eastern European women are often overlooked and confined to stereotypes of cleaning and domestic work in the UK.
Each work draws from lived experience, examining how individuals navigate life between cultures and across borders.
Kuznetsova opens with a warm, engaging and humorous piece about moving away from home while running a marathon, running in place as others slowly join her. The script as a whole is welcoming, transitioning beautifully between autobiography and poetry, offering a poignant and fresh perspective on leaving home. However, the physical transitions between scenes expose a lack of polish. Hesitant entrances and out-of-sync physical theatre sequences feel disconnected, underworked and nervous.
Visual Design, Production Shortcomings, and Overall Potential
The production’s major flaws lie in its lack of attention to design. Lighting remains static throughout, failing to highlight potentially powerful moments. Where it could conceal entrances, differentiate scenes or add artistic depth, it instead feels uninspired. When used more creatively, such as lighting Begovic seated among the audience, the dramatic shadows cast by her large hat obscure her face, distracting rather than enhancing.
The production’s major flaws lie in its lack of attention to design. Lighting remains static throughout, failing to highlight potentially powerful moments.
Combined with music that abruptly stops and starts, and a completely bare stage, the visual elements reinforce the sense of an amateur production. Black and white costumes further evoke a student aesthetic typical of multidisciplinary work. Stana’s bright makeup also feels inconsistent with her opening monologue about early childhood whilst contrasting awkwardly with the more natural presentation of the others. Further undermining otherwise strong performances, Begovic is at one point clearly reading from a handheld prop during a poem. The rhythm falters, and the performance lacks the same depth carried by her counterparts.
Despite its need for further rehearsal and refinement, No Translation For This had at its core an important story, a compelling script, and clear potential. With more rehearsal time and greater attention to choreography, as well as scenic and technical design, a more polished and impactful production could emerge.
Featured Image: Event poster.
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