„Civil Front – oh, what a wonderful world“ is a play performed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and broadcast live to Hamburg using special technology to create an immersive experience – the audience and actors can see and hear each other in real time.
Created in spring 2023, it tells the story of two brothers and a dog who try to go about their daily lives amid sirens and power cuts. It is not about soldiers, politics and great heroic stories, but about everyday questions: How do you walk the dog when rockets are flying overhead? Where do you get food when the supermarkets are closed? How do you start your day when normal life has come to a standstill?
With plenty of humour and without words, the two performers tell a powerful story about resilience and the absurdity of (survival) life in a frontline city.
Panel discussion before the broadcast
The performance will be preceded by a panel discussion in which we will join various actors from politics and civil society to ask how—using Ukraine as an example—transnational partnerships work in complicated times, which issues and goals are central, and where synergies are possible. The panel discussion can be attended without a ticket.
The broadcast will be followed by a discussion with artists and organizers.
»Civil Front – Oh, what a wonderful world! // Hamburg-Premiere
February 1st 2026 LICHTHOF Theater Hamburg
16:30 Panel
18:00 Live-Broadcast Performance
KHARKIV:
Concept & Performance: Oleksandr Plekhun, Viktor Yermolenko / Lighting & Sound: Valentine Temchenko
HAMBURG:
Project Management & coordination: Franziska Jakobi, Gregory Popov / Live-Broadcast concept, coordination, supervision: Max Buskohl / Technical support & lighting design: Sönke Christian Herm
PANEL:
Moderation: Franziska Jakobi (under construction) / Participants: Dr. Stefanie Wodrig (City of Hamburg, Senate Chancellery, Department for International Cooperation, Unit for Northern and Eastern Europe, Contact Person for the Hamburg-Kyiv Pact for Solidarity and the Future), André Pilling (European-Ukrainian Bridge e.V.), Katharina Knothe (Nicht schnacken – Machen! e.V. – Aid transports between Hamburg and Kharkiv), Stefan Henkel (Head of International Affairs, European University Viadrina Frankfurt/Oder)
The event is supported by the Claussen-Simon Foundation, the Hamburg-Kyiv Pact for Solidarity and Future and the LICHTHOF Foundation.