A Story of the Forest: Mavka

Mavka, a water nymph, loves Lukash, a country youth. Their brief happiness ends when Lukash is forced to marry the shrewish Kilina. The Spirit of the Forest turns Lukash into a wolf as punishment for his infidelity. The strength of Mavka's love breaks the spell, but Kilina curses the nymph, transforming her into a weeping willow. This beautiful and tragic story is based on a play written in 1912 by Lesya Ukrainka, a Ukrainian poet, writer and political, civil and female activist, and includes mythological characters taken from Ukrainian folklore.

Cast

Liudmyla Yefymenko

Liudmyla Yefymenko

as Mavka

Viktor Kremlev

Viktor Kremlev

as Lukash

Maya Bulgakova

Maya Bulgakova

as Lukash’s Mother

Ivan Mykolaichuk

Ivan Mykolaichuk

as Uncle Leo / Wood Goblin

Boris Khmelnitsky

Boris Khmelnitsky

as Red (forest) Demon

Viktor Demertash

Viktor Demertash

as Koots

Lyudmyla Lobza

Lyudmyla Lobza

as Kylyna

Nina Shatskaya

Nina Shatskaya

as Water Sprite

Svetlana Sergeyeva

Svetlana Sergeyeva

as Meadow Fairy

Ivan Khodulin

Ivan Khodulin

as Kylyna’s child

Reviews

SGhosh

It seems that I have stumbled on one of Yuri Ilyenko’s masterpieces at last, a beautiful and tragic adaptation of a play (written in 1912) based around folklore. Mavka, a water nymph is enticed by a young man’s flute and falls in love with him, only to be betrayed as the man marries another. The for...

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